


When the Con Isn't a Con

by WildClover27 (PrairieFlower)



Category: Garrison's Gorillas
Genre: Some suggestive conversation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:14:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 52,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23959777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrairieFlower/pseuds/WildClover27
Summary: Sometimes it is difficult to tell what is truth and what isn't. That does not help when some of the team is left behind.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Non-canon characters are my own and not for use in other people's stories.

The small room was quiet as hands gave final adjustments to clothing, smoothing lapels and shrugging shoulders to settle dress jackets. Actor gave a last wiggle to the wings of his white bowtie to get it into the perfect spot. Terry’s face was scrunched into a look of frustration. For some reason her hair refused to be restrained by the pearl comb on her left. The Italian gave a crooked grin of amusement as he approached her and took the comb from her hands. She looked up at him, resigned and yet relieved that he had come to her aid, she was used to just pulling it back in a ponytail on the ranch. Deftly, the tall man finger-combed the wayward tress with a twist and slid the comb home. The young woman gave her head a tiny shake and smiled when the hair remained in place. Fingertips brushed Actor’s arm in thanks as Terry moved off to help Chief.

The youngest member of their group was still learning how to be comfortable in a ‘monkey suit.’ He was fine with the cuff links, but the bowtie was still a clumsy mystery to fingers that could so delicately stroke a razor-sharp blade. Terry approached with a wide smile. Chief surrendered the unwieldy black tie to her quick fingers. He would have to get her or Actor to show him again how to make the correct knot. They both made it look so easy.

Casino, dressed in a suit that he could still make look casual, ambled over to the two with a snickering grin. “Hey, Babe,” he said just loud enough so the Italian could hear him. “Why don’t you dump Beautiful and spend the evening with me?”

Terry smiled insincerely. “Because Beautiful is a count and you are . . . not.”

That got a grin from Chief and a sigh from Actor. They were partially ignored by Goniff who was fidgeting with his uniform, clearly unhappy because he never got to dress up and attend a party like the nobility the others pretended to be. They would get all the good food this time while he was relegated to sitting in the car. Sure an’ he could sneak up to the back door like the other blokes what were driving and get a small handout, but he didn’t speak the language.

“Yeah, and wot about me?” The whine of complaint in his voice exaggerated Goniff’s Cockney accent, drawing stifled smiles from the others. “I ‘ave t’ drive th’ car,” he lamented. “You get t’ scoff all that nice nosh an’ booze an’ me; I get nuffin.”

Terry walked up and placed a kiss on his cheek. “That’s all right, Love,” she said soothingly. “I’ll sneak you some food.”

The blond pickpocket looked pointedly at Terry’s small clutch. “And ‘ow much are you goin’ to fit in that?”

Terry shrugged. “Beautiful has big pockets.”

“All right, enough,” said Garrison sternly, hiding his amusement at their antics. “Time to leave. Come on. Out.”

The quartet headed for the door. Goniff slipped out first and did a quick check of the area. He gave a soft whistle which brought Chief and Terry, who also took up defensive positions, peering into the night, checking for danger. 

Casino lagged behind, appreciatively eyeing the low back of Terry’s gown that revealed a lot of bare skin. Actor sure knew how to dress her, or not dress her, thought the safecracker. With a grin, he followed his two teammates out.

Back in the safe house, Actor approached Garrison and rolled his eyes.

“The children are restless again,” the con man said with a grin.

Garrison’s grim grin answered Actor’s. “They better settle down before we get there.” He didn’t need to elaborate on what would happen if any one of them lost concentration even for a short time. 

The drive to the estate where the party was being held was actually quiet. At least for them it was quiet. Terry was seated in the back seat between Actor and her brother. She had been gnawing on something in her mind for a while and patted Actor’s leg to get his attention.

“Okay,” said Terry. “Teach me how to be fascisti. I was too young to be concerned with politics when I was in Roma. I don’t even know how our family leaned.” She wasn’t about to ask how Actor leaned. 

The tall aristocratic man gave a crooked smile. “You needn’t worry about that. Just be the supportive wife of your wealthy husband who is a strong supporter of Mussolini. I will take care of our leanings.”

“Well,” admitted Terry, “I would have to teach you how to be contadini.”

He raised an eyebrow at her teasing grin.

“He can pull that off too,” Craig assured her.

Actor merely smiled.

GGGGG

Teresa and Actor stepped into the ballroom like the nobility they were pretending to be, the girl’s gloved hand in the crook of the confidence man’s arm. Terry looked around and began to think the cream evening gown she was wearing made her look underdressed. The dark paneled ballroom, lit with dozens of crystal chandeliers, was maybe half the length of a football field and filled with dress uniforms from several different countries. They were equally mixed with formal dress of the type Actor was wearing; dark suits with frilled white shirts and rich vests or cummerbunds. The women were awash in colors. Cloth rationing seemed to be ignored by the fashion houses in Paris.

Actor’s eyes were casually studying the people and watching for trouble. He took note of Garrison moving from group to group, making small talk. Casino and Chief were in apparent conversation with each other by the entrance to the huge room. Satisfied that things were safe for now, he turned a smile onto his partner.

“Shall we dance, Darling?” he asked in Italian.

“Of course, My Love,” she replied smoothly in the same language.

Actor led her through pockets of couples or small groups, exchanging pleasantries in French, Italian or heavily accented English, on a meandering path to the middle of the room where couples were dancing to the strains of a string orchestra. Actor stepped in front of Teresa and took her gloved hand in his. Her other hand with the clutch rested against his right shoulder. They moved into the dance with an ease born of much practice and trust in their partner. 

Though they appeared to be intensely involved with each other, their eyes took in everything as they circled and glided around the floor. The sweet nothings they whispered to each other were observations of people and pairings. Terry’s eyes brushed over her brother, catching the faint nod without acknowledging it. As they turned, Actor observed the Lieutenant accepting a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and making his way to the other two of their group. Another turn allowed Teresa to see Craig and Casino slip from the room.

When the dance ended, Actor guided the girl to begin mingling with the other guests. So far, they had not had to introduce themselves by their aliases of the Count and Countess DiMarco of Rome, staunch supporters of Mussolini, visiting here in Vichy France. Terry was happy at least this once she was playing a wife and not a mistress. That went straight to hell.

“Conte Mancini!” boomed a loud Italian voice.

GGGGG

Garrison and Casino moved casually down the hall, engaged in conversation. They paused a short way from the office they wanted and lit cigarettes, continuing to converse; Garrison in quiet German and the safecracker in simple Italian. If anyone had come close enough, they would have been puzzled by conversations that did not meet or make sense. However, if anyone had come that close, Garrison would have taken over the conversation in German. As the two men faced each other, any lip readers would have only observed one side of the conversation and it would not have been in English.

Satisfied they had not been followed and were not being observed, they ducked into the office. The lieutenant took up a post by the door while Casino located the wall safe behind a painting Actor, the art snob, would have deemed a poor copy.

Casino had the safe open in short order, disgusted again because there was a fine amount of cash he could not liberate. They were only copying the papers Garrison was after so they could not touch the money. Casino traded places with Garrison, grumbling to himself that it just didn’t pay to keep opening these safes if they couldn’t get any financial gain from the caper.

Garrison reached in the safe and extracted the handful of large envelopes from the middle shelf. He walked quickly to the desk, laying the envelopes on it and pulled a light bulb and camera from his pocket. He replaced the light bulb in the desk lamp and turned it on. Opening the first envelope, he had to grin. It was the right one the first time. 

Casino cast quick glances to see how the Warden was doing as the lieutenant began taking microfilm pictures of each page. Maybe this would be a quick in and out job hoped the safecracker. That went straight to hell. As he peeked back through the crack in the door, Casino spotted a German general walking with confidence directly toward the room they were in. He snapped his fingers sharply at Garrison, making urgent pointing motions of a forefinger toward the hall.

Sweeping the papers and envelopes into a pile on the desk top, Garrison flipped off the desk lamp and shoved the camera into his pocket. He hid behind the long blackout drapes on a nearby window as Casino closed the safe door and pushed the painting back in place. The safecracker barely had time to hide behind the door before it opened. 

The door pushed back but was held in place by a strong hand and forearm as the general stepped just inside the doorway. Casino waited for him to move farther into the room and give him a chance to knock the man out. That move seemed to be anticipated as the man never moved.

“Come, Gentlemen,” said the middle-aged, stocky, blond man in heavily accented German. “I am aware you are here. I have been waiting for you. I wish merely to speak with you.”

Neither hidden man made a move or an answer, remaining silent and frozen, barely breathing, while waiting for the officer’s next move.

“And if I were to give you something more than copies of those papers to take back to the Allies?” he said temptingly.

Garrison knew it was a matter of time before the German discovered their hiding places. If he stood inside the open door talking much longer, someone was bound to see him and investigate. The only thing Craig could do was try to talk their way out of this or at least give Casino a chance at nailing the man. With an inscrutable face he had learned from Actor, Garrison stepped from behind the drape.

“If you want to talk, then you better close the door,” he advised.

The German grinned. “And be attacked by your man behind it? First call him off first and then we will talk.”

Garrison shrugged nonchalantly and motioned Casino to do nothing. He watched the German slowly step forward, close the door silently behind him, and flip on the light switch. A glance, assessing the danger from the unsmiling man behind the door was the only acknowledgement of Casino’s presence.

“I am General Ernst Horst,” said the German conversationally, turning his attention to the blond man who was obviously in charge.

Garrison did not give his name. “You said you were waiting for us. You have something more you wish to give us.”

“Yes,” replied Horst. “Those papers you are trying to copy are mine. I have been carrying them all over France. The information they contain is important enough to warrant sending in a team.”

“And you want us to have that information,” led Garrison. “So just what more are you wanting us to have, and why?”

The general took a step forward and pulled a pack of Balkan Sobranies from his pocket and offered a cigarette to Garrison. His studious ignoring of Casino wasn’t lost on the safecracker. Garrison shook his head.

The German officer took a minute to light his cigarette and take a long puff, blowing the smoke out slowly. “I find myself in a tenuous position with the Führer. I have been associated with some people who, shall we say, are not in his favor. It is a matter of time before I am called to task for those associations.” 

He took another puff. Garrison watched him, not offering any comments.

The general continued. “I wish to be taken to England. I have much information, time tables, plans, troop locations, which would be of great interest to your side.”

The corners of Garrison’s mouth turned up into a smile that did not reach his eyes. “And what guarantee do I have this isn’t some kind of trap.”

“My word as an officer.”

Casino gave a snort of disbelief. Garrison motioned him to be quiet.

“No,” said the general. “Your man is correct to be distrustful. All I can offer is my word. It is up to you to take the chance with me.”

Craig silently contemplated the situation. It could easily be a trap. Then again, it wasn’t the first time a high official in the Reich had wanted out. They had been sent in more than once to retrieve an officer. Garrison figured the odds to be about fifty-fifty. If it was a trap, they would walk into it, but at least with open eyes. If it wasn’t and they refused to accommodate the general, he could very easily turn them over to the Gestapo to make himself look like a loyal follower of Hitler.

“All right, you come with us,” said Garrison.

The lieutenant ignored the rolled eyes and grimace of disgust on the face of his safecracker.

GGGGG

Terry felt the muscles in Actor’s arm stiffen under her hand. She gazed around trying to spot the owner of the voice. A short, rotund man about Actor’s age was pushing through the crowd toward them. She noted the wide smile of unfeigned pleasure beneath the thinning dark hair.

The con man’s heart almost stopped. It was only years of perfecting his craft that kept his countenance from showing his shock as he watched the man, as richly dressed as himself, rapidly bouncing off people in his hurry to reach Actor. Still, he could not help but grin back.

“Ah, Angelo, so good to see you, My Friend,” said Actor heartily in Italian.

“Vittorio, I haven’t seen you in years. Did you drop off the face of the earth?” laughed the man.

“So to speak,” said Actor.

Terry stood by, smiling, as the two men embraced and slapped each other on the back. So much for the planned con. It was improvisation time. The man eyed Terry with approval.

“Your countess, Vittorio?” asked Angelo.

For once, Actor was at a loss for words. Terry stepped in quickly and smoothly.

“Alas, no. Just a girlfriend. But I am working on that. You know what a playboy Vittorio is.” She held her hand out to receive a kiss on the fingers. “Teresa DiMarco. Angelo?”

“Ferrari,” answered Actor, regaining his senses.

Terry smiled brightly, “Of the famous motorcar?”

“Unfortunately, no. A third cousin.” Angelo dismissed her as one of Vittorio’s many women and turned his attention back to Actor. “Who has the vineyards now? I have not seen the Mancini name in many years.”

“The vineyards have all been sold except for the one south of Milano.”

“You are living at the northern villa now?” asked Angelo.

“No,” replied Actor. “I moved to America about ten years ago”. He gave an elegant shrug. “Less trouble with the government over money. Carlo is running the vineyard.”

“Excuse me, Gentlemen,” interrupted Terry. “I need to powder my nose. I will be back in a minute,” she said. 

Angelo bobbed his head to her, eyes not leaving his old friend. Terry walked toward the archway to the hall with a smile plastered on her face. As she neared Chief, she motioned with her eyes for him to meet her in the hall. He followed her a few seconds later.  
“Somethin’ ain’t right,” whispered Chief.

Terry shook her head. “The man Actor’s with knows him. Actor is now Count Mancini and I am his friend, Teresa DiMarco.”

“Who is the guy?” asked the Indian.

“I don’t know. If Actor is using Mancini, I would suspect an old mark or an acquaintance. The guy does not strike me as a confidence man.”

They watched the two Italians from a distance. The conversation seemed friendly and animated.

“Why isn’t Actor tryin’ to get away from him?” whispered Chief.

Terry shook her head. “Maybe he’s afraid of what the guy might say to someone else and blow the whole thing. If he is an old mark, judging by what was said, it must have been a really elaborate con.”

A movement from down the hall caught Chief’s attention. He casually turned and spotted Garrison and Casino, accompanied by a German officer. “Trouble,” he whispered to Terry.

The girl laughed and turned to Chief, so she could see over his shoulder. Terry paid no attention as the men walked right up to them. She and Chief remained silent, waiting to find out how this mess was going to play out.

Garrison looked past her toward his confidence man. “What are you doing over here?” he asked his sister in whispered English.

“Trouble over there,” she replied quietly. She then gave a pointed look at the German general.

“He’s with us,” said Garrison. “Get Actor and let’s get out of here.”

Terry gave a tiny nod. “What’s his name?” she asked with a flick of her eyes toward the general.

“General Ernst Horst,” replied the officer making a polite but silent heel click to the woman.

The men moved down the hall toward the front door, leaving Terry to paste a smile on her face and walk back over to the two Italians. Reaching Actor, she slipped her arm through his elbow and squeezed it possessively. He looked down at her and patted her hand.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” said Terry in Italian. “Vittorio, there is a General Ernst Horst in the hall. He said he wishes to see you on an urgent matter. He sent me to get you.”

“Thank you, carina,” said Actor. With a sigh of resignation, he turned back to the other man. “I apologize, Angelo. I really must attend to this matter.”

The rotund man leaned forward conspiratorially and said, “Ah, these Nazii: they have no class. Always in such a hurry and usually for the most inconsequential things.”

“Hopefully, this will not take very long,” said Actor convivially, “and we may resume our conversation.”

The con man turned and guided Terry toward the hall. When they entered it, Terry took over guiding him in the direction of the front door. They unhurriedly received their coats, Actor helping Teresa into hers before donning his. After they had slipped around a small cluster of officers in jovial conversation on the steps, the Italian leaned closer to the girl.

“What is going on?” he asked, quietly.

“We have to get out of here,” whispered Terry. “There is a general and he’s with Craig.”

Obviously, nothing was going right on this mission either, thought Actor in frustration. He kept the pace leisurely as they left the building and walked in the direction of the car. His concern did not abate when he saw Garrison standing beside the open back door of the vehicle. The Lieutenant shook his head and motioned for Actor and Terry to get in the other side. Actor opened the door for Teresa.

Terry looked inside and hesitated. The car had just held the six of them tightly. Now there were seven. She glanced up at Actor.

“I’ll get in. You sit and I will sit on the floor when you close the door.” She gave an insincere smile to the German. “Excuse me, Herr General.” She crawled in, leaning over in front of the man and gracing her brother with a look of exasperation. Actor squeezed in and shut the door. Terry wasn’t sure how she was going to fit between his knees and the back of the front seat. That decision was taken out of her hands by a strong arm that went around her waist and pulled her down onto the confidence man’s lap.

“We came in with a woman, so we must leave with a woman,” explained Actor  
.  
“Yeah and if we are stopped, how are we going to explain this?” asked Terry, waiting expectantly to hear his con for this one.

Before Actor could come up with one, Garrison did. 

“Actor, you have that flask on you?” the lieutenant asked his second.

“Yes,” replied the Italian, not following the plan yet. He wiggled his hand between Terry’s ribs and his chest, retrieving the flask from an inner jacket pocket.

“Good,” said Craig. “Give it to Terry. You met up with your old friend, General Horst, and we are all going out to party in private. Terry is the entertainment.” He looked at his sister, “You are happily drunk.”

“Great,” said Terry sarcastically.

She uncapped the flask and took a swallow of the cognac. It was not enough to intoxicate her, but enough to have some on her breath if things got close. She was very aware of her knees tight against the German’s left leg and didn’t like it. There was no room to maneuver.

The general looked appraisingly at Actor. “And you are, Sir?” he asked.

“Count Vittorio Mancini,” replied the con man with steady disdain.

If Garrison had any thoughts on the change in name, he didn’t show it. Instead he glanced at his sister. Terry was wearing an inscrutable expression. It was Actor who felt the tension in the young woman through his arm that rested across her thighs and the one around her back, even through his jacket and hers. 

As they pulled up to the gate, Terry tossed her head back and laughed, throwing an arm over Actor’s head and around his neck to keep her balance and bringing one stocking-clad slim leg up across the general’s knees. She almost gouged Garrison’s leg with a spiked heel, not entirely accidently. 

The soldier at the gate looked inside the car with puzzlement. There were more people in it now than when it had arrived. He turned toward his officer and the major walked over to peer inside.

“Herr General?” the Wehrmacht officer questioned. “Is everything all right?”

Horst smiled. “Of course, Major.”

The major wasn’t sure he was buying this. He hesitated, looking at each of the individuals in the vehicle. The Italian looked stern. The woman who had come in with him was obviously drunk. The SS Oberst was smiling benignly. The three in the front seat were staring straight ahead. 

The general realized the major was about to ask more questions. He did not like to explain himself to an underling, but in this case it was a necessity. He damned the Nazis for making their guards so conscientious. “I am just going to join my old friend, Count Mancini for a private party. All is in order, let us through.” When the man was slow in responding, the general spat, “At once, you imbecile!”

The major backed away hurriedly and motioned for the barrier to be raised. Goniff drove through and did not slow down. Garrison’s hand eased unnoticed from the gun in the shoulder holster under his jacket.

Terry looked at the German with narrowed eyes. His hand had casually come to rest on her leg and was lightly squeezing it. “May I have my leg back now, Herr General?” she asked icily in perfect German.

“Oh, but of course, Fraulein,” he replied, pulling his hand away.

The young woman carefully bent her knee up, left hand with the flask in it trying to keep her hem from riding up too high on her thigh. She pushed her foot down between the German and Actor, not caring that her shoe raked down the side of the German’s leg.  
“It is a lovely leg, My Dear,” he said, just on the safe side of lecherous.

“Thank you,” replied Terry, voice still icy.

Actor’s arm tightened around her. He could still feel the tension in her. She did not trust this general one bit and neither did he. What he did not realize was that Teresa was aware of the tension in him. There was something about the way the general had spoken to Teresa that was bothering Actor. It kept him silent when he would normally have been assisting Garrison feeling out the lay of the land with their unexpected guest.

As they neared the edge of town, on their way to the safe house, Garrison leaned forward and tapped Casino on the shoulder.

“Yeah, Warden?” said the safecracker.

“Only one car isn’t going to work,” said Garrison. “We have to change the plan. I want you to get us another car and take Goniff with you. We’ll also need an SS uniform for Actor.”

“Sure Warden,” said Casino. “Not a problem.”

“Wot rank?” asked Goniff.

“The highest you can find,” replied Garrison. He wanted Actor to have a rank as close to the general’s as possible.

Goniff slowed the vehicle down and pulled over to the curb. The safecracker and the pickpocket got out quickly and disappeared into the shadows. Chief slid over behind the wheel and the car took off again. Terry stayed where she was; not wanting to take the time or risk being observed changing seats.

As they continued on to the safe house, Garrison wondered what else was going wrong. His sister was silent, watching the general with an unreadable expression that barely showed in the dimly lit interior of the car. His second was strangely silent too. Actor would usually have been making conversation with the general to feel out his mood and agenda. Terry’s arm remained around the con man’s neck and he made no attempt to remove it.

This left Garrison to talk to Horst. Now that they were away from town and it looked like they might get away, the German officer was becoming nervous. Craig started conversing with the man, asking questions in a friendly fashion about his background and making comments on some of the places they had both been. Luckily, Garrison was somewhat familiar with Berlin. The general was more concerned with having to leave behind his 16th century collection of steins.

When they arrived at the farmhouse they were using, Chief got out of the car and did a turn around the perimeter before cautiously entering the building. The others remained in the car.

“Is there a problem?” asked the general.

“Just making sure there isn’t,” replied Garrison.

Chief came out on the small porch and motioned it was clear. Garrison got out first, followed by the general. Terry twisted off Actor’s lap and sat on the seat. The Italian got out of his side and held a hand out for her as she followed him. Actor unhurriedly caught up with Garrison and escorted the German into the house. Terry followed slowly. Chief came down the steps and walked up to the girl, sensing something was bothering her.

“It’s okay, Little Sister,” he whispered to her. “Actor and I ain’t gonna let him do anything to you.”

“I know,” nodded Terry. “It’s just I don’t like him, and I don’t know why.”

“Maybe because he’s a Kraut?” suggested Chief.

“Probably,” replied the girl, only that wasn’t it.

“Watch Actor,” said the Indian. “He’ll figure out if the guy’s on the level or not.”

Terry didn’t want to tell Chief that Actor wasn’t being himself either, or why.


	2. Chapter 2

Chief disappeared into the trees, leaving Terry to enter the house. She silently took in the scene in front of her. Garrison was sitting on his heels, building a fire in the fireplace. The general was pacing between him and the table.

Actor had removed his jacket to reveal the shoulder holster and Beretta that had remained hidden until now. The cummerbund was removed and laid on the table. His eyes watched the German officer, but he made no move to speak to the man. As Teresa walked past him, he locked eyes with her. She looked as edgy as he felt. He watched Terry go into the back room and close the door.

Garrison rose to his feet and turned. Actor was staying apart from the German. There was an attitude of wariness about the con man and something was bothering him. Garrison didn’t have time for this. He motioned the general to sit down at the table and pulled the packet of papers from his jacket. He laid them out on the table and began asking the officer questions. Craig was aware of his second maintaining his distance and watching the exchange instead of joining in.

The door to the backroom opened and Terry stood in the doorway, still wearing the evening gown. She called Actor’s name quietly. The con man turned and went over to her.

“What is wrong?” he asked.

“The zipper’s stuck on my dress,” she said. “I don’t want to rip it. Can you see if you can get it loose?”

“Turn around,” said Actor.

He worked a piece of cloth out from the track of the zipper and lowered the zipper an inch to make sure it was moving freely now.

“What else is wrong?” repeated the man in a bare whisper.

“Nothing,” she replied. “I just don’t like him. And neither do you.”

“No, but we must play with the hand we have been dealt,” said the confidence man. “We will just have to be more alert.”

Terry turned to face him. She changed the conversation to Italian and kept her voice low. “Who was that man in the ballroom? An old mark?”

This was part of what was bothering Actor. He would have refused to answer, but it was Teresa and she deserved an answer. “No,” he replied slowly. “I want to say first you were superb, cara.”

Terry shrugged, not knowing where this was going and wondering if she was even going to get an answer.

Actor sucked in both cheeks. “He was a childhood friend. His father’s estate bordered ours outside of Roma.”

Terry’s eyebrows came together as she tried to understand this. “But he called you Count Mancini. That’s one of your aliases.”

Actor did not reply, but just looked at her. She could tell he was a bit shaken by the incident and did not understand. Then she started to see the light, hardly believing it. She stared at him.

“It’s not an alias is it?” she asked slowly.

He shook his head. “I am not a count though. The title did not go to me.”

“Multiple vineyards?” Another nod. “You really are aristocracy?” Again, a nod, this time with no eye contact. Terry let out a long breath, taken aback. “Oh, Actor, all this time, we thought you were making that up,” she said softly and apologetically.

“I would prefer to keep it that way,” he said quietly.

Terry nodded. They exchanged a look. Terry reached a hand up and pulled his head down, kissed him on the cheek and let him embrace her. She whispered into his ear, “I will not tell anyone . . . Vittorio.”

“Grazie, Teresa,” he whispered back.

Terry pulled away and went back into the bedroom, closing the door. Actor turned, expressionless, and returned to the end of the table.

Garrison had seen the exchange take place behind the back of the German officer. He was annoyed. It wasn’t like Actor, or Terry for that matter, to allow their feelings for each other to surface during a mission. He still thought the two were closer than they admitted to, but right now he needed Actor to be in control and working with him. His anger abated a bit when the con man pulled a chair out and took a seat. From then on, the not quite interrogation continued as it should have with Garrison and Actor asking questions in a pleasant manner.

A few minutes later, Terry emerged from the other room wearing a heavy skirt, sweater and solid sensible shoes. She placed her duffle and jacket with the men’s duffle beside the door and took a seat at the table across from the German. Remaining silent, she studied the general and his responses to the two men.

Garrison and Actor continued with the questioning. Gen. Horst seemed quite cooperative. If the man was on the level, Garrison realized he had a wealth of vital information in his hands. They needed to get this man back to England where Intelligence could process the knowledge in the German’s head quickly. It meant they could not wait for morning to head for the coast. There was also the probability that an intense search would be made for the man when it was discovered he was missing along with the documents that had come from the safe. Garrison glanced at Actor and knew his second had come to the same conclusion.

It was another hour before Casino and Goniff returned with another car and a uniform for Actor. Goniff dropped the clothing on the table with an exaggerated sigh. Actor fingered the uniform tunic and raised an eyebrow at the rank of general.

“What took you so long?” asked Garrison accusingly.

“Aw, come on, Warden,” whined the Cockney. “I finally found a general’s top half what would fit ‘im.” He nodded toward the bigger confidence man. “But all the officers around here are a lot shorter. I ‘ad a ‘elluva bloody time tryin’ to find a pair o’ pants ‘e could even get a leg in.”

That brought a silent closed mouth laugh from Terry. 

“They still ain’t gonna be long enough for ‘is long legs,” added Goniff.

“They never are,” sighed Actor, rising and picking up the clothing with distaste.

“’Ey, they don’t ‘ave ‘oles in ‘em this time, Mate,” teased the pickpocket.

“Get dressed and packed,” said Garrison to the con man. “Casino, help Chief top those gas tanks off. There are gas cans behind the house.”

“We leavin’ now?” asked Casino, clearly unhappy.

“Yes.”

It took another fifteen minutes for the cars to be fueled and the cans stowed away. Goniff had popped back outside and brought in another armload of uniforms from the car they had ‘borrowed’. Actor was just emerging from the bedroom, dressed, but in stocking feet and carrying his duffle bag.

“Boots?” he asked the Englishman pointedly.

“Next to the table,” chirped Goniff, walking past to take the armload of clothing into the bedroom to leave for the Resistance. “They’re a size too small.”

“Naturally,” remarked Actor in passing.

The tall man set his duffle beside the other two, walked over to the table and slipped his left foot into one of the boots, bending his knee up to rest the sole on the seat of a chair, and crammed his foot into the bottom of the boot. They were short as predicted. If this war lasted a long time, his toes would never be the same, he thought to himself. The action was repeated with the other foot and boot. Actor straightened and adjusted the uniform. At some point in the bedroom, he had put on a mustache and clear-lensed glasses. 

Horst stood up and the two generals eyed each other, the German with an air of disapproval and Actor with an inscrutable countenance. There was an almost palpable tension between the two men. 

Terry rose and walked up to the con man, nodding that he looked in order. “And who are you now?” she asked.

Actor thought a moment. “General Hans Deitinger.”

Terry looked up at him and whispered impishly, “You seem to like that one too. Another relative? That’s a German name.”

“We are Italian,” he said quietly back with his SS look.

Terry smiled and with her back still to her brother and the other two men mouthed, “I know you are.”

“Yes . . .” he replied in a normal voice.

Casino chose that moment to slip in the door and Terry stepped away from the con man.

“We’re all set, Warden,” said Casino.

“Okay,” said Garrison. “Chief will drive the first car. You can drive the second one.”

The three rose from the table. Terry slipped on her jacket and grabbed her duffle. Casino hefted the other two. Outside, the bags were stowed in the trunk of the first car. Chief climbed in the driver’s seat of that one and Goniff got in on the other side. The German general was placed in the middle of the back seat. Garrison looked at the set up and then at his sister. She was walking around the front of the second car.

“You’re riding with Casino?” he asked.

“Yes,” replied the woman. “Ich spreche Deutsch. And I know the routes.”

Garrison could think of no good reason for her not to, though he had a feeling she would be better in the lead car with him. He nodded and he and Actor got in on either side of the General.

Terry climbed in the front seat of the second car, with Casino behind the wheel. The two vehicles took off with Casino staying a short distance behind the other car. The occupants of the second car were silent for a few minutes.

Casino shot a glance in the dark at the woman beside him. She was quiet and hugging herself. He turned the heater up a little more. “You okay, Babe?” he asked.

“Sure,” she replied.

He didn’t buy it. “That general bothering you?”

“No,” replied Terry. “I just don’t like him. I don’t know why.”

“Remind you of somebody?” asked the safecracker.

Terry knew who he was referring to. “I don’t know. Maybe a little.”

“Yuh know we ain’t gonna let him do nuthin’ to you.”

He couldn’t see the smile on her face. “I know, Casino.” There was a pause. “Thanks. I can take care of myself, you know?”

“Yeah,” replied the gruff man. “But we like to do it too.”

Terry’s hand reached out and around his near forearm. Casino let go of the steering wheel with that hand and took hers in his, pulling on her.

“Come over here and get warm.”

Terry scooted over to the middle of the seat and curled her feet up under her. She laid her head against Casino’s shoulder. Ten minutes later, she was asleep. 

Casino kept an eye on the back of the car in front of him and on his mirrors, watching for anybody coming up behind them. He wondered how long before the Krauts started looking for their general. Leave it to the Warden to throw a monkey wrench into the works. He couldn’ta just left the guy’s body in a woods somewhere. No, he had to drag him along. Well, it wouldn’t be a mission if Soldier Boy didn’t add something on.

They drove for three hours and then pulled off down a dirt track. Everyone got out and Casino opened the trunk of his car to pull out the remaining two gas cans. Goniff went out to the road to keep watch, while Chief and Casino topped off the gas tanks. Terry took Casino’s hand gun and positioned herself partway to the road, behind a tree. Garrison, Actor and Horst got out and stretched their legs, staying close to the vehicles. Tanks filled and cans in the trunk again, they got in their respective cars. 

Casino backed slowly out. Goniff made an okay sign with thumb and forefinger. The safecracker backed down the road enough to allow the lead car to get out. Goniff hopped back in the front seat next to Chief and they continued on. 

The two in the rear car drove in silence for awhile; Terry back on her own side of the front seat. The girl was lost in thought. Casino knew the general seemed to still bother her. Hoping to get her mind off of it, the safecracker struck up a conversation.

“So, what was the problem with Actor back there?”

“What?” Terry was pulled from her reverie. It took her a second to realize what Casino was referring to. “I guess it wasn’t much of a problem. Apparently, the guy knew him from somewhere. Actor handled it okay.”

“Guess him runnin’ into somebody he knows was bound to happen sooner or later,” remarked Casino.

Terry grinned. “Considering how much of the Continent he worked before the war, I guess. At least it wasn’t somebody who held a grudge against him.”

“Must not have played around with the guy’s wife,” added the safecracker snidely. 

Terry leaned her head back against the seat back. “I have visions of going to a party with him and having a half dozen women descend on us demanding to know where he had disappeared to.”

“That oughta be good for a cat fight,” Casino laughed.

“Not something I want to be in the middle of.” 

GGG

It was just after dawn when they ran into the first roadblock they couldn’t bypass. Casino slid his gun over to Terry and she tucked it inside her jacket. Both watched warily as two armed soldiers approached one side of the lead car. One of the officers bent down and appeared to be speaking with the men in the back of the car. The conversation seemed to take an inordinately long time. It was long enough for another soldier to approach Casino’s window. The safecracker rolled it down, staring straight ahead while the corporal looked in at them. 

“Is there a problem?” asked Terry in haughty German. “I am with General Deitinger.”

“May I see your papers?” requested the soldier.

“Hans has our papers,” said Terry brusquely. She had her arms wrapped around herself, hand on the gun inside her jacket.

“And this man?” persisted the German.

“He is my driver,” she replied with just the right amount of derision. “If you have questions, ask General Deitinger.”

Casino stared straight ahead with a sour expression on his face, hiding the nerves that fluttered in his stomach.

“Just one more question, Fraulein. If he is your driver, then why are you in the front seat with him?”

Terry’s lips curled in disgust. “Because the heater in this lousy car the general obtained for me does not reach to the back seat.” 

“And what is your relationship to the general?” the man persisted.

Terry’s eyes glared at him. “I am his friend,” she replied.

The German realized what kind of a friend and leered at her.

The corners of Terry’s mouth curled up in a nasty smile. “And not the kind you can afford.” She made a motion of turning the window handle to Casino. “Heinrich, roll up the window please. This swine is making me cold.”

The only thing Casino understood was the hand motion and the last sentence. Eyes straight ahead, he rolled the window up. Whatever had been said in the front car had worked. It moved forward. Casino touched the gas, making the corporal jump back out of the way. They were beyond the barricade and down the road before the two relaxed.

“You’re good, Lady,” said Casino. “You scare me, but you’re good.”

“Thanks,” said Terry. Sometimes she really did get tired of playing Actor’s puttana, but if it kept them alive, it was worth it.

“Say,” asked Casino. “What was that you said just before tellin’ me to roll up the window? It didn’t make him happy.”

“I told him he couldn’t afford me,” replied Terry dryly.

Casino threw his head back and roared. “That’s for sure. Hey, I don’t think even Actor could afford you, Babe.”

“I’m not for sale!” protested Terry angrily.

“That’s what I mean.” Casino was still chuckling.

“Besides,” added Terry calmly, “have you ever seen Actor pay for it?”

That took the wind out of the safecracker’s sails. “No,” he admitted, no longer laughing.

Terry couldn’t resist. “You need to hang out with a higher class of broad, Casino.”

“What makes you think I gotta pay for it?” he asked, defensively.

Terry shrugged. She lived in the house with them and went to the Doves with them. She knew Casino had been seeing one of the barmaids. And that particular bar maid did not give it away for free. Feeling contrite, she decided it was cruel to tease him, even though he was quick to do it to Actor and the other two. She reached over and rubbed his forearm.

“So one of these days you’ll find some bird who’ll love you for you,” she said with certainty.

Casino didn’t buy that one for a minute, but he wasn’t about to let Terry know that. Her kind of woman wouldn’t give a guy like him the time of day. Naw, it would be somebody like Actor who would win her heart . . . if he hadn’t already. With those two it was hard to tell if it was all a con or not. He figured the con man had more sense than to fool around with the Warden’s sister. And Terry wasn’t really the older man’s type. She teased him too much.

They drove on for another hour. Terry asked him about the prison breaks she had heard he had pulled. She laughed at the one with the hacksaw blade in the chocolate birthday cake. With her expression of genuine interest, he found himself opening up and telling her about his family in Chicago and the uncle in New York. She spoke a little about her family, but mainly sat sideways in the seat, watching him and listening.

The sun was coming up, casting long shadows on the road. They were winding through some woods when he stopped in mid-sentence and stiffened, watching the rearview mirror.

“What?” asked Terry suddenly serious.

“I think we picked up a tail.”

Terry turned in the seat and looked out the back window; hand on the pistol between them. Casino spotted a car about a half mile back.

“How many?” he asked.

“Three, maybe four,” said Terry. “Two cars, a troop truck . . . maybe another car behind.” She glanced forward. “Pull up alongside,” she said urgently.

Casino gunned it and pulled around and alongside the lead car. Chief turned his head to look at them. Actor’s face was in the rear side window. Terry jerked her thumb back the way they had come. She held up first three fingers and then, with a shrug, four fingers. Actor motioned them to pull ahead. Terry shook her head.

“Pull back behind,” she urged Casino. “We’ll buffer them.”

“Lady, we don’t even have a machine gun,” said the safecracker, even as he fell back.

“Neither do they,” said Terry, nodding to their lead car. 

Chief gunned his engine and the bigger car leapt forward. Casino was right on its tail. He glanced at the woman beside him, who was checking the rounds in the pistol. He reached inside his jacket and pulled a small box of rounds from an inner pocket, handing them to her.

“You think you can handle this?” asked the safecracker with concern. He kept one eye on the vehicles behind them.

“I can use a gun,” said Terry steadily.

She knelt on the seat, crouched down behind the back and watched. The German vehicles were slowly gaining on them. “You think they might have decided their general was missing?” she asked wryly.

“That’s a safe bet,” replied Casino.

The first open staff car pulled within range; a soldier standing in the front, holding onto the top of the windshield. He fired at the fleeing car, shattering the back window. Terry and Casino ducked. Terry was immediately up, trying to steady her hand on the back of the seat. She fired off a round, missing the standing man. He, in turn, fired back at her. Terry was cautious with her shooting trying to save her ammo. 

Chief was swerving across the lanes ahead of them. As he cleared either side of Casino and Terry’s vehicle, Actor or Garrison fired from their side window. Terry gave up trying to hit the German and concentrated on hitting the radiator instead.

“You sure stayin’ in the rear was such a good idea?” asked Casino, taking up Chief’s tactics in an opposite pattern. 

“The General and Craig have the intel. Intel’s priority,” said Terry.

Casino wondered why she had gotten so military-minded all of a sudden. He glanced at her. The girl was steadying her arm and concentrating on her aim. She let fly with two shots close together. The engine of the staff car gave a loud bang and burst into a cloud of steam.

“Dang! I hit it!” crowed Terry in surprise.

“Good, now get your tail down under cover,” ordered Casino. “Damn Annie Oakley,” he grumbled.

The staff car and careened back and forth across the road before coming to a stop, temporarily blocking the vehicles behind it. Terry slipped around to face forward. Chief had straightened out and was flooring the big closed staff car. Casino was on its tail.   
A road sign flashed past them. Terry frowned and thought about it. A conniving smile crossed her lips. She had been here before, for Jaguar. They were close to the Comet Line that was the Maquis’ route for getting downed flyers to Spain. Terry knew the route Garrison was taking and the side roads that would meander to the same destination.

“They’re coming back,” said Casino grimly.

Terry glanced behind. There were now two staff cars, followed by a troop truck, gaining on them. She settled lower in the seat and watched the road ahead of them. They were approaching a side road. She couldn’t confer with Craig, but knew if they stayed together they would all be captured and the general would be killed or at best returned to Berlin for punishment. Her face went still.

“Take that road to the left!” she ordered with as much authority as she could muster in her voice.

“What?” asked Casino in disbelief and confusion.

“Go left!”

At the last split second, he jerked the wheel to the left and veered off down the side road.

GGG

“Warden!” called Chief urgently.

“What?” asked Garrison with worry.

“Casino turned off! He’s got one of ‘em after him!”

Craig and Actor both jerked around to look out the back of the car. 

“What are they doing?” asked Actor in disbelief.

“Damn it!” exclaimed Garrison. “She’s trying to act as a decoy.”

“They are going to get killed,” objected Actor, feeling fear for the first time.


	3. Chapter 3

Casino straightened the fishtailing car and surged forward down a two-lane country road. This put the morning sun behind them, so he pushed up the sun visor with impatient fingers. A glance in the rear mirror had him questioning his sanity in blindly following the girl’s order. “What . . . ?” he asked.

“If we can pull some of them off Craig it will help,” Terry explained rapidly. “If not, we can circle around and get behind the Krauts.”

“Yeah, well, we got one of the cars behind us,” confirmed Casino, pushing hard on the gas pedal.

Terry turned around in the seat and watched the staff car. It was following at a distance through the cloud of dust stirred up by their tires as they left the paved roadbed and drove onto dirt and gravel. If the wind didn’t pick up and blow the dust they might be able to keep a workable lead on their pursuers. She surveyed the road ahead with critical eyes. Following the double line of hedges and broken fences bordering rolling pastures that marked its path, she quickly mapped its route as it wound between small stands of trees and the odd isolated barn. There seemed to be no crossroads and no opportunities to hide. Even if they could get far enough ahead of the pursuit to have time to stop and make a stand, it didn’t seem much of an option with only one handgun between the two of them. “Great!” she said with an amused but resigned tone. “Now can you keep them interested enough to follow us, but not too closely?”

Casino shot a wide-eyed look of disbelief at the grinning woman. Even with the chill morning air, he could already feel sweat starting to run down his spine. “Jeez, Lady! Anymore requests? Wanna stop for a picnic somewhere?”

Terry turned her head to stare at his wide eyes. With a start, she realized he was scared. It made her realize the gravity of the situation she had put them in. It wasn’t just her life she had put in danger, but Casino’s also.

His eyes flicked quickly back to the road. He knew he was driving too fast for being on an unfamiliar gravel road. Sure, he was used to being pursued on backwater roads when he was rum-running with his dad and uncles, but what a guy did in his teens and what he did when he was on the other side of thirty was two different things. “I’ll be happy if I can keep them from gettin’ close enough to nail us,” grumbled the safecracker loudly, trying to hide his apprehension the only way he knew how. He concentrated on reading the road ahead and weaving to avoid the worst of the potholes. At this speed he knew hitting a deep one could wreck the car and any chance they had of avoiding capture.

Terry shook her head and frowned. “I’ve got faith in your driving,” she said as if it were of no concern. And she really did trust his driving from riding with him as wheelman on more than one occasion.

“Gee, thanks,” grumbled Casino some more. “You got any idea where we’re goin’?”

“Sure,” replied Terry, trying to sound confident. “Stay on this road. It goes up over those mountains ahead and meets up with another main road farther on. We can catch up with Craig where they turn to take the road to the coast.”

“And how far is that?” Casino was wondering at her assurance when she didn’t even have a map. He wanted to look at her, to read her face, but he did not dare take his eyes off the road and the mirrors.

“About two hundred kilometers, give or take,”

Give or take. He had to be nuts to follow her. Well, maybe not. She had pulled their bacon outta the fire more’n once; usually with Actor’s help, but a couple times without. His attention flicked briefly to the girl. She was twisting around in the seat, scrunching down to look out the side mirror and then leaning over the back of the seat to try to see out the broken back window. She was getting as bad as Goniff. Casino risked another quick glance at her. The girl’s teeth were clenched, and her eyebrows furrowed. He realized she was just as scared as he was. 

“Sit down,” said Casino forcefully. “I’ll let yuh know when you gotta turn around and start shooting.”

To his surprise, she did as he said.

GGGGG

General Horst folded over his legs and stayed as low as he could in the middle of the back seat. On either side of him, Actor and Garrison were kneeling on the seat, side windows down. Chief was trying to gain as much of a lead over the German vehicles as he could. They had slowed to get around the disabled vehicle, and one of the staff cars had turned off after Casino. Now the remaining staff car and the truck were gaining on them. 

The lieutenant and the confidence man began shooting again as the staff car came within range. The back window shattered in a spray of glass. Garrison grabbed his right upper arm, but continued firing. Actor glanced at him.

“You’re hit?” asked the big man, trying to get a quick look at the damage.

“Not bad,” replied Garrison.

The two began firing through the missing back window. Now they all had to duck as the German car was getting much closer. Garrison shot a look forward and saw a wooded area coming up with trees very close to the road.

“Chief,” he called. “When you find a good spot in those trees, slam on the brakes.”

“Sure thing, Warden!” the Indian called back, recognizing the ploy.

The wheelman waited until there was a narrow bit of road over a culvert, angled to the center of the road, and slammed on the brakes. The occupants of their car were thrown forward. The maneuver had the desired effect and then some. Reflex made the driver of the staff car swerve to miss the back end of the vehicle. There wasn’t room to pass and he hit the block wall, hard. Chief tromped on the gas pedal and barely managed to scoot out of the way before the heavier troop truck, brakes squealing and unable to stop, plowed into the left rear fender of the staff car and then slammed into the opposite wall. Both German vehicles were put out of commission.

Chief didn’t slow. “Now what, Warden?” he called back.

The three men in the back were brushing glass off the seat and trying to straighten themselves out. Actor reached around the general and handed his handkerchief to Garrison. The lieutenant peered under his jacket at his bloody sleeve. He didn’t think it was too bad and pushed the handkerchief inside the sleeve, holding it tight with his left hand.

“Keep going,” he instructed the Indian. 

“Wot about Casino and Terry?” asked Goniff.

“Terry has the map in her head. They’ll meet up with us,” replied Garrison with a confidence he did not feel.

The general had lost most of his cockiness with the last little escapade. He settled back in the seat, trying to avoid as much glass as possible. He was nervous now and reached for one of his cigarettes. There were only two left. As he smoked, he observed the people his life depended on. The tall man beside him wore a frown that made him look more SS than the general himself. He spoke with a cultured Italian/European accent, but his German was flawless and sounded native Berlin. The younger blond man to his right was the commanding officer. Odd. They were supposed to be Americans. Of the men in the front seat, the smaller blond man was English, and the driver seemed to be American with maybe a touch of Mexican blood. The fifth man, who had turned off with the woman, sounded like he belonged in an American gangster movie. And then there was the woman. Most curious.

Horst turned his head to look at Garrison. “You are American?” he asked for verification.

“Yes,” replied the blond officer.

“But you have a woman with you,” continued Horst. “I thought Americans did not allow their women in combat situations?”

“This isn’t combat,” replied Garrison shortly.

“But she is American also. Who is she?”

“She is my partner,” said Actor sharply with a tone that should have killed further questions.

“Ah, a confidence woman,” said Horst, trying to pigeonhole the young woman.

Both men turned their heads to give him a look that brooked the end of that line of conversation.

Garrison switched to German. “When was the last time you were in Berlin?” he asked conversationally. 

Actor sat back in quiet contemplation allowing the Lieutenant to keep the anxious defector’s mind occupied with small talk about the man’s past in Berlin and Paris, both cities the officer was familiar with. It left the confidence man to his thoughts . . . thoughts that were a mixture of dark and light. How odd that the sharing of his real name somehow made him feel closer to Teresa. Dio, thank heavens the girl had become as good as she was at the con. When he had more time alone, he had to figure out why he had stumbled. He had not done that since he was a young man just learning his trade. It was worrisome. Of course, he had not met anyone from his real past before and had not even contemplated the possibility of meeting anyone he knew at the party. Maybe he had become too complacent. That could be remedied. Two more things bothered him; Teresa’s reference to herself as his girlfriend with all the wrong connotations, and the general’s pegging her as a con woman. Granted, she was becoming very good at the confidence game. Teaching her to be a bit more larcenous could turn her into an agreeable partner, but Actor wondered if he was ruining her. Or had he already ruined her? Her response to Angelo of being Actor’s woman had been delivered smoothly and without hesitation. A good con, but was she becoming too used to being placed in that role? Would she even survive to continue being placed in that role? The thought of her being captured and killed, with the horror of the preceding torture and rape, sent a chill through his heart. When had he developed a heart where she was concerned? Forcing himself out of his reverie, Actor turned to the other two men beside him and joined in the conversation.

GGGGG

Casino kept one eye on the rearview mirror as he negotiated the gravel road. The weather had been dry, which caused twin spiraling plumes of thick white dust to fan out behind them. It kept the Germans from getting any closer for fear of running into the back of the car. The safecracker wished they would just give it up and go back to wherever they had come from, but the occasional glimpse of the pursuing vehicle told him that just wasn’t happening. A glance at the gas gauge showed they still had most of a full tank. They would be alright if a well-placed bullet didn’t hit the gas cans in the trunk. There was still some benzene in both cans.

The young woman beside him had slouched down in the seat so she could alternately see out the front and in the side mirror. Boy, this sure wasn’t one of Casino’s better decisions. If the Krauts didn’t kill him, Garrison sure would if they ever got back together. He had to say one thing in the woman’s favor, she wasn’t some hysterical broad. In many ways she was a lot like her brother, with the crazy spur-of-the-moment schemes. ‘Course she was better lookin’. Nice set of front bumpers. The tweed skirt had risen above her knees. Better legs. Jeez, he better get his mind back on what he was doing.

The road began a slight uphill grade as they wound into the foothills of a low mountain range. The empty pastures were giving way to more stretches of pale green-leafed trees. Either the Krauts had a full load in that car or the engine didn’t have the power of the one Casino was driving. They kept their distance, which had widened a short bit, but continued to follow.

With passing time, the way became steeper as they climbed higher. Deciduous trees gave way to evergreens. There had been rain here. The road was still dusty, but not as heavily as before. Both occupants of the lead car kept a close eye on the staff car behind them. In a couple spots it was able to gain a bit of lost ground, but not enough to catch up with them. 

Terry looked around, a frown on her face as she concentrated. “About another two miles to the pass,” she said. “On the other side it’s pretty straight another two miles before it hits the curves again. You can hammer her down on the straight part.”

“How do you know that?” asked Casino in disbelief.

“I was here about a month ago,” Terry replied. “There were still patches of snow around then.”

Casino risked a swift glance at her. “What were you doin’ here?”

“Working,” she replied. “And none of your business what.”

Maybe Actor’s speculation had been right and she was mixed up in something other than the army. “Warden know?” he asked curtly.

Terry was getting tired of hearing that question from the guys. “He knows I go out with other groups. He doesn’t know where or what, just like I don’t know what he does.” She crossed her arms and went back to watching out the side mirror, ending that conversation.

They reached the top and just like the woman had said, the way was straight along the mountainside for almost two miles. Casino kept the gas pedal to the floor. If the Jerries were going to catch up with them it would be on the downhill side. Terry sat up in the seat and watched out the window, saying nothing to distract him. He eased back on the gas as they neared the first curve but kept the car at a not quite safe speed. Casino just hoped there wasn’t anything comin’ in the other direction as he cut the curves weaving into the oncoming lane. 

After about ten minutes of this, Casino asked, “You see ‘em anywhere?”

“No,” replied Terry looking back through the windows. “Maybe they ran out of gas.”

“Sure, Babe,” snorted Casino. “An’ maybe the Warden’s gonna be waitin’ at the bottom for us.”

“Didn’t buy that one, huh?” the girl asked with humor.

“No way,” replied the safecracker with a grin. “Did you?”

“I wish,” laughed Terry brittly. 

GGGGG

They had traveled for another half hour before Garrison pulled the map from the inside pocket of his jacket. He studied it, estimating their location and what towns would be coming up.

“Chief, how are we doing on gas?” asked the lieutenant.

“I can pull another couple hundred kilometers out of her, Warden,” their wheelman called back.

Garrison folded the map and put it back inside his jacket. With the miles of fast pursuit, they were making good time. There was a decent sized town coming up in another hundred kilometers. They would have to ditch this car and find a new set of wheels. One without bullet holes and a missing back window.

“I wonder how Casino and Terry are doin’?” remarked Goniff.

“I am sure they are just fine,” said Actor firmly, though he wasn’t in the least sure. Still, the Lieutenant did not need the burden of that reminder. Neither did he for that matter.

The two men exchanged a look across the German general. Both knew the worry was deeply seated in the other’s mind. Garrison tried to hide his concern. He had faith in Casino’s driving and a growing faith in his sister’s abilities. He just wished it was Actor with her and not the safecracker who could not come up with a con or speak anything but English and a few words of Italian. 

GGGGG

The tire exploded with a bang like a gunshot. Casino fought to control the vehicle at high speed on the inclined gravel road. He knew he couldn’t take the rapidly approaching curve and keep the car upright.

“Jump!”

Terry grabbed her jacket and bailed out one side as Casino bailed out the other. Terry landed with a tucked roll on grass and dirt. Casino tucked, but slid on the gravel road surface. Both heard rather that saw the loud intermittent sound of tortured metal as the car rolled and bounced down an embankment. The mostly empty gas cans in the trunk exploded with a vertical ball of fire.

Terry sat up with a suppressed groan. She had hit dirt and grass on the shoulder of the road, but still had abraded her right elbow and scraped her right leg.

“Shit!”

Terry looked toward the road and saw Casino trying to lever himself up. They both got to their feet at the same time. Terry snatched up her jacket that had fallen a few feet from her. Casino moved quickly, but unsteadily, in her direction. His face was bloody with road rash on his left forehead and cheek, sleeve torn on his left elbow and he cradled that hand against his chest.

“You okay?” asked Terry, grabbing his upper right arm and helping him down the embankment and into the woods.

“Oh, yeah, just fine,” grumbled the safecracker sarcastically. “You okay?” he asked with a sudden change to concern in his voice.

“A little banged up but okay,” she replied.

They half slid and half scrambled down the rocky embankment covered in slippery matted leaves, moving deeper into the woods, knowing the Jerry staff car might not be far behind them. Hopefully it would take the Jerries some time to check out the wrecked car before looking for them in the woods. They came upon a creek at the base of the incline. Terry glanced around and motioned Casino to head downstream through the water. The way was cold, wet and slippery. Terry soon wished she had worn her trousers and boots. The shoes she had on rapidly saturated with icy water. As she slipped yet again, Casino’s right hand shot out to grab her arm and keep her upright.

The safecracker kept close behind the girl. She had to be freezing with her feet in the spring-cold water. His boots were better, but they didn’t keep the chill out. She was stubborn. He had to hand that to her. She didn’t whine, she just kept on going.

They stopped frequently and stood silent, listening for any sounds of pursuit. Casino watched Terry watching the water. He wondered what was so fascinating about it but wasn’t about to ask. He didn’t want her to think he was stupid. Or stupider than she probably thought he was. After about twenty minutes in the stream, Terry paused, listened, and then stepped up onto the embankment.

The girl’s shoes squished with each step, causing her to wince. She ignored Casino and moved around from tree to tree, studying them in the fading light. Finally, she motioned him to follow and set off on an angle through the woods. Casino shook his head and followed. Sure, she musta asked the trees for directions, he thought grumpily.

They made their winding way through the forest. Terry took the point and Casino continued to bring up the rear. Periodically, the girl stopped and ran her hands down tree trunks. The safecracker still didn’t know what that was about, but he took the time to listen and watch behind them. It seemed they had gotten away clean. At least one thing was going right for them.

The way was inclined and they moved on an angle. Still, there were rocky escarpments they had to climb or slide down. Terry kept an eye on Casino when they lost purchase and half scrambled, half slid, down leaf covered rough ground. It was another half hour before they came across a narrow animal trail. The trees had thinned out somewhat and the ground had become flatter. Without hesitation, Terry stepped onto the path and went right as though she knew the way.

“Where we goin’?” Casino finally asked in a loud whisper.

“This way,” was the reply.

Right. This way. He shook his head and followed. His abraded face burned, as did his left elbow, and his hand throbbed. He wondered for the umpteenth time how the crazy woman a few steps in front of him seemed to know where she was going. Rightfully, he should be leading, but he didn’t have a clue where they were or where they were going.

An hour later, the sun had set, but the moon was rising, providing dappled bits of soft white light that danced among the shadows. Suddenly, Terry halted, and Casino had to pull up abruptly to stop himself from charging into her back. He looked around her and saw they had come to a clearing with a shabby one room shack. There was no light, no smoke and no sound. He tapped her arm and motioned her to stay where she was. Silently, he moved around her and cased the place out.

Terry watched with bated breath as he moved stealthily up the steps and opened the front door, sliding inside. After a moment, he reappeared on the little porch and motioned her to come.


	4. Chapter 4

Chief pulled off into woods a mile, by road sign, from what Garrison believed was a fairly decent-sized village. Dusk was beginning to settle in, meaning it was soon supper time for the Germans and the Indian would have an easier time getting a different staff car for them.

Garrison watched their wheelman disappear in the trees and sent Goniff to take the watch by the road. In the waning light, the lieutenant spread his map open on the trunk of a fallen tree. Actor joined him and they studied their route. Both kept cautious eyes on the German general who was walking around to get the kinks out of stiff back and leg muscles. 

Craig pointed to the town they were outside of and traced a road heading west. “There’s a safe house here,” he said, pointing the location out to Actor. “I don’t know if it’s occupied right now. We’ll have to take the chance.”

“Does Teresa know the location of the safe house?” Actor asked casually, lighting a cigarette and holding the match for Garrison to light his own.

“No,” replied Craig. He readjusted the map to show the area they had come through. He pointed to a crossroad. “This is where they turned off. That road takes them over the mountains. They can pick up a decent road from the south and bisect with the one we will be on or drive on to Le Havre.”

“Lieutenant,” said Actor with a dubious tone. “How are Casino and Teresa going to drive that distance with no papers? Two civilians in a staff car?”

Craig shook his head with his characteristic Garrison stubbornness. “She’ll find a way.”

Obviously, the lieutenant had more faith in his sister’s abilities than the confidence man did, though Actor knew a portion of Garrison’s attitude was bluff. Neither man liked splitting the team up. The Italian glanced at their German ‘guest’ and shook his head. “He had better be worth this,” muttered Actor with a touch of disapproval. 

“If even half of what he has told me is true . . . he is,” said Garrison.

Craig folded the map up and tucked it back into his inner pocket. He turned away from his second and walked away. As much as he wanted to, he could not share his misgivings with the older man. He felt Actor’s disapproval and could not chance an argument with the Italian. In truth, he was afraid for his sister and Casino. The lieutenant of the team she, and sometimes he, had been going in with kept him appraised of how well she was doing. Terry’s abilities had improved greatly, but that did not stop him from worrying that something would happen to her and Casino. Something neither of them could get out of.

Actor took his turn trying to keep the general settled. The man had run out of cigarettes and was pacing nervously. Actor approached him and held out his pack of Gauloises, shaking one out. Horst eyed the pack with obvious distaste at what he considered an inferior brand, but as that was all there seemed to be, he accepted the offering, albeit with no show of grace. It wasn’t lost on the confidence man and did little to improve the defector’s image in the aristocratic Italian’s eyes.

It was almost a full two hours before Chief returned with an intact staff car. The men climbed in, grateful for no broken windows to let the night chill in. The drive through the scarcely populated outer circle of streets got them through the town in silence. Another hour’s drive beyond brought them to the track winding through more woods that Garrison said would take them to a safe house. They stopped halfway up the twin ruts so the noise of their engine would not alert anyone who might be in the farmhouse.

Garrison stealthily made his way to the building. On the possibility it was inhabited, and he was spotted, he stood a better chance of talking his way in or out. Scouting first the perimeter and then the interior of the dwelling, the lieutenant was grateful things were starting to go better when he found it empty. He made his way back to the men and motioned them on.

GGGGG

Terry followed Casino into the darkened interior of what was basically a single room cabin. Blackout drapes were still in place over the windows. The safecracker pulled a match from his pocket and scraped the tip to a flare of flame that provided just enough light to guide them to a kerosene lamp on a table. Terry lifted the glass chimney and turned up the wick while Casino held the match to it. He shook the match out when the wick caught, and the glass was settled back in its seat. A dim light now filled the room. 

The two took a slow look around. There was still wood in a box by the fireplace. A broken table chair littered the opposite corner. At one time, a sofa had faced the fireplace. It now sat crookedly on one corner that was missing a leg. A large dark stain spread down one of the walls. There was a thick coating of dust on everything.

“Looks like it coulda been a safe house at one time,” remarked Casino. 

“Looks like it wasn’t too safe,” remarked Terry with a glance at the stained wall. “Think it’s okay?”

“Don’t seem to have been used lately,” replied Casino, running a fingertip through the dust on the table top. “Better’n spendin’ the night outside.”

Terry nodded in agreement to that. Reaching inside his jacket pocket, she pulled out another match and walked over to the fireplace and began to build a smokeless fire. Casino wandered around the room. Opening a cupboard door, he brushed aside cobwebs and pulled out an equally dusty blanket which he tossed on the sofa. The safecracker was careful to keep his hand at his side and partially hidden behind him.

The girl flowed to her feet as soon as she was sure the fire had caught. It was her turn to poke in the cupboard. She pulled out a metal cook pot with a wire handle. She had heard the trickle of a stream behind the cabin when she had been waiting for Casino to check it out. Carefully, she let herself out the door and disappeared silently off the porch. A minute later she was back with water in the pot. The pot she placed on the hearth beside the little fire. Casino was behind one of the drapes, watching out the window, so Terry pulled the cushions off the sofa and arranged them on the floor.

“I wonder why they left stuff behind and didn’t torch the place,” mused the girl.

Satisfied no one was out there, Casino stepped back into the room. “Maybe they were in a hurry to get what they could outta the one they did that too.”

Terry’s eyes followed his gaze to the heavy stain on the wall and the bigger one she could now see on the floor at its base. “They wouldn’t get anything out of that one. Too much blood.”

Casino shrugged. “Maybe there was more’n one.”

“Well, it isn’t the Ritz, but at least it has a roof,” she said.

The safecracker pulled a chair out and sat at the table, laying the one gun they had between them on the table top within easy reach. After a little bit, Terry pulled the sleeve of her jacket down over her hand and used it to pick up the hot handle of the pot. Casino watched her set the pot beside him. She lifted the hem of her skirt and tore a strip of material from her slip. She soaked it in the water, wrung it partially dry and sat down on another chair to gently dab at the abrasions on his face.

“Ouch! Dammit, that hurts!” Casino exclaimed.

“Sorry,” she apologized, continuing on. 

He had to admit, she was being gentle about it. He was afraid to show her his left hand. It didn’t matter as she picked it up and looked at it with a wrinkled upper lip. 

“Why didn’t you say something before?” she scolded.

“Wasn’t nothin’ you could do about it while we were on the run,” he shrugged.

He continued to watch her gingerly lay his hand across her palm. The last joint of his little finger was pointed off at an angle toward the other fingers. 

“Hang on,” he was warned. Terry carefully felt up to the joint. “I think it’s just dislocated,” she said.

“So un-dislocate it,” said Casino with a nonchalance he did not feel.

“It’s going to hurt,” said Terry.

“Hurts now. Go for it, Babe.”

His eyes followed first her expression of concentration, then her hands. She slowly worked her thumb and forefinger tightly up his bent finger to the joint, while pulling on the end with her other hand. It hurt like hell, but he managed to keep himself to a grunt of pain while the joint popped readily back into place. They both stared at it.

“That was too easy,” said Terry. “Don’t bend it.”

Casino’s eyes still followed her as she moved to the small pile of wood in a box by the fireplace and dug around in it. Eventually, she came up with a piece of wood a little bigger than a large splinter, but flat. This was laid on the table while the girl ripped another strip of material from her slip. The safecracker held the wood in place under the last two fingers of his left hand and Terry wrapped it with the material, knotting it to hold it on securely. Terry told him to take his arm out of the sleeve now. When he did, she cleansed the abrasion on his elbow.

Casino grinned, “Want some help gettin’ out of your blouse?”

He was graced with a dirty look at that suggestion. To his surprise, she stripped her jacket off and unbuttoned her blouse to slip her arm out of it, affording him a view of a common cotton bra. She started to pull the side of the blouse across her and then decided it was too late for any kind of modesty. She remembered how he and Actor had partially undressed her to treat her gunshot wound. Still she made sure he didn’t see anything he hadn’t already had a good look at before. He sat and gave her an appraising look, nodding in approval of the part of her figure he could see. He knew the Italian bought her fancy clothes and wondered why he hadn’t dressed her in silk undies.

Casino looked at the abrasion on her arm. It was as nasty as his. He held his good hand out to her. “Give it here,” he said quietly. “Let me do that.”

She shot him a puzzled look but handed the cloth to him. Casino just as carefully cleansed the scraped area on her arm. Maybe now she’d see Actor wasn’t the only one who could take care of her. When he was done, he one-handedly helped her get her arm back in her sleeve. She was quiet as she buttoned the blouse up.

“Huh, you – huh – goin’ to clean that one on your leg?” Casino asked with just the hint of a leer.

“I am not doing a strip tease for you, Casino.”

“It would take my mind off the pain in my hand,” he suggested, with an insincere smile.

She smiled back at him. “I can clip you one alongside the head and do the same thing.”

“Yuh can’t blame me for tryin’.” He got up and knelt down beside her. “Yuh know I won’t try anythin’. I mean, not sayin’ you ain’t a good lookin’ dame and all.” He shrugged.

Terry looked at him and then bent over to pry the soggy shoes off. It brought their faces inches apart. The girl turned her head to look at him.

“I just want yuh to know you’re safe with me,” he said.

“I know,” she replied quietly.

She straightened and stood, hiking the skirt up so she could undo the clips holding her woolen stockings up. It put him just above eye level with her upper leg. She had a nice set of gams thought the safecracker with approval; softly muscled with clear silky skin, except for the rough abrasion on the outside of her thigh. There were woolen threads stuck to the wound.

“Sit down,” Casino said. “I’ll clean it.”

Terry said nothing but did sit down with the skirt pulled up and tucked between her legs. Casino reached around her to squeeze the excess water from the cloth in the pot. He wet the wound and carefully began picking thread out of it. He knew it hurt and had to admire Terry for not complaining. In fact she didn’t say a word, just shifted a little so he had better access to the injury. When he was done cleaning the area, he tossed the cloth back into the pot. The girl stood up and casually unhooked the other stocking, rolled it down and sat to remove it.

“You got a plan?” She changed the subject as she stood and straightened her clothes.

Casino stared at her. “No. I could probably come up with one, but I don’t even know where we are.” He hoped he wasn’t expected to get them out of this mess. After all, she held all the cards and had since they had turned off the main road. “I suppose you got one,” he said rather disgustedly.

“I got one,” she replied. “I’m just trying to work the details out in my mind.”

“So where are we headed?” he asked.

“South for now until we hit a town or another main road.”

Casino eyed her contemplatively. “How do you know we’re headed south? It was dark in those woods.”

“Moss,” she replied.

Great thought the safecracker, they were in a fix and country gal was lookin’ at moss.

As if sensing his skepticism, Terry continued. “Moss grows on the north side of the tree trunks.”

“You gotta be kiddin’,” Casino scoffed.

“No,” replied Terry seriously.

“Where’d you learn that?”

“Call it Introduction to Basic Wilderness Survival,” she replied flippantly. “I was four when I got my first horse and the lessons started then. Craig. Some of the ranch hands. Some of the Blackfeet.” 

She moved closer to the fire, draping her stockings over the arm of the sofa and dropping her shoes close to the hearth. Casino helped her rearrange broken furniture to make a place to bed down close to the fireplace, but with a view of the door. “The area we live in is very rugged. You don’t know how to take care of yourself out there, you better know how to get home, or you might become dinner for a grizzly or a wolf.”

Casino watched her set up a nice little nest on the floor out of old musty cushions and the blanket. It was butted up against the ragged end of the sofa. She tossed the broken off wooden leg into the fireplace.

“You want first watch or second watch?” she asked.

“I’ll take first,” Casino replied.

“Well, come by the fire,” said Terry. “Neither of us is exactly dressed for standing outside in this cold.”

Casino wondered what she had up her sleeve for sleeping arrangements. Cautiously he sat down beside the cushions, leaning back against the sofa, gun in his lap. Terry lay down on the cushions, between him and the fire, and scooted so her back was against his leg. He looked down at the auburn head. He thought ruefully this was probably about as close as he was ever going to get to sleeping with the Warden’s sister. He helped spread the blanket over her.

“Before you go to sleep,” said Casino, “what is the plan?”

“First town we come to, we get some French clothes, some money, and a car.”

“And how are you plannin’ on doin’ that?” he interrupted.

Terry turned her head to look up at him in exasperation. “How do we usually do it? We steal it.”

“Okay, sayin’ we pull this off, then what?” Casino wanted to hear this one.

“We go to the nearest place with a train station and hope we don’t get picked up by the Krauts. We take a train to Le Havre and try to meet up with the others.”

Casino thought Terry had lost her mind. “Lady, you realize you’re talkin’ about taking a train across half of France?”

“It’ll be easier with two of us than with six of us,” she reasoned.

Casino shook his head. The girl was sounding more and more like her brother with the crazy schemes. If she started makin’ maps in the dirt with a stick, he was leavin’. Knowing enough not to watch the fire, his eyes moved between the girl beside him and the door instead.

Slowly, Terry’s shoulders relaxed as she drifted to sleep. After a bit, she wiggled around, not awakening, to find a more comfortable position, bringing herself tighter against the warmth of Casino’s leg. When her breathing evened out again, he reached a tentative finger out to stroke down a strand of hair. She was something, he mused. He bet if she let her hair down so to speak, she could be a firecracker. That damned Italian was ruining her, changing her into one of his hoity-toity women. Casino grinned. The con man wasn’t totally succeeding. Oh, she looked good at those parties on Actor’s arm, but she still got down in the dirt with her gardening and she could put away a beer or two if she was in the mood. Casino figured Terry would never fully embrace being a confidence woman to the extent Actor probably thought she could. Still the suave Italian got to kiss her . . . a lot, and he seemed to enjoy it. So did she for that matter. Casino snorted derisively to himself. Who was he kiddin’? Of course she’d be happy kissin’ the aristocratic Italian. They had kissed once, and afterward she hadn’t acted any different than usual. It probably hadn’t meant anything to her. Still, he sat and lightly stroked her hair. She tried to wiggle closer but didn’t wake up.

It was in the early morning hours when Terry did wake up. She got up and hunkered down in front of the fireplace, adding wood to the slow burning blaze. Pivoting, she exchanged a look with the safecracker.

“I’ll take watch,” she said, holding her hand out for the gun.

“You sure?” asked Casino. “I’m good for a couple more hours.”

“I’m sure,” replied Terry. She wasn’t about to let him say she didn’t pull her own weight.

Casino stood up and stretched his legs, handing her the gun. Terry stood also and moved back to the nest on the floor, picking up her shoes and stockings on the way. She sat back down, put the stockings and shoes back on, and tried to get in a comfortable position.

“Hey, can I use the comfy pillow?” asked Casino slyly.

Terry looked up at him in confusion. “What comfy pillow?”

Casino grinned and tapped her leg lightly with his booted foot.

“Casino!”

“What? I’m injured. Don’t that qualify?”

Terry looked at his grinning face and shook her head. She gave a short chuckle and a grin. “All right, you can use the comfy pillow.”

“Really?” asked Casino in disbelief. She was gonna let him?

“Yes,” replied Terry. “Just don’t get used to it.”

Casino lowered himself to the floor. Terry angled around so he could lay almost parallel to the fire. He lay on his back and placed his head in her lap. He wanted to savor this moment, but the adrenalin from the chase had worn off during his watch. His body craved sleep and so it betrayed his mind. In less than a minute he was asleep. 

Now Terry was afforded the opportunity to study the safecracker. At first glance, he seemed stocky. He really wasn’t. He had a very muscular chest and arms and a trim waist. The man was strong as a bull, and as hardheaded too. She studied the face, relaxed in sleep, and found the full lower lip to look rather sensual, even surrounded by a light growth of dark whiskers. She remembered what it felt like to be kissed by that mouth and wondered what a real kiss would be like. Then there was that curl on his forehead. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to tame it. She reached a hand up cautiously to brush it into his hair and watched it spring back. She grinned, thinking she could have fun with that. Heaven’s, where had she come up with that notion? If you could get past his loud mouth and defensive attitude, he really wasn’t bad. He was smart, but he was so abrasive it was hard to focus on what he was actually saying. Craig had told her the man had some good ideas and was great at finding the flaws in a plan, but he couldn’t express himself without annoying everybody within hearing distance. 

Terry was aware the safecracker was interested in her. She wondered what his motive was. Was he just looking for a quick liaison or something more lasting? Either way, she wasn’t ready for any kind of intense relationship with him.

She listened carefully, but only heard the breeze and normal night sounds. Satisfied, she went back to her musing. In his own way, Casino was attractive, but he was night and day different from Actor. The Italian was suave, refined, and sophisticated, which required the same from Terry. Though she was learning to enjoy it, it just wasn’t her, at least not yet. It would be if the con man had his way. The big man was a mystery. She felt intuitively he was hiding his real self, or maybe what he presented was his real self and he didn’t want anyone to know it. He was big and strong, yet gentle, extremely intelligent and sophisticatedly clever. She found him intriguing.

Vittorio Mancini. Terry wondered how many people, besides her and Angelo, knew that name. She had read all of his aliases, or at least the ones he owned up to. There were some variations of those names, but not that particular combination. Maybe that was why he used Mancini a lot. Stick close to the truth, but not the exact truth. Count Mancini. Who knew, she thought in amusement. And Elizabeth knew him as Vittorio Borghese. Victor Borghese of Alcatraz. Terry wondered if there was something to the Borghese name. She would probably never know. She bet when he had time to dwell on it, Actor would be angry she had learned that much about him. She would somehow have to reassure him his secret was safe with her.


	5. Chapter 5

The five men cautiously entered what was essentially a shack; probably a shepherd’s cabin in a previous lifetime. Chief and Goniff remained by the door, scanning the outside area, while Actor stood just inside the room, watching Garrison’s back as the officer checked it out. The general stayed beside Actor, but not too close. Satisfied that all doors and shutters were closed, Garrison moved to the wooden table in the far right corner of the room. He brushed his hand over an oil lamp, clearing dust and cobwebs off it before lifting and giving it a gentle shake. He was grateful it sounded like it was half full of oil. A soft whistle brought the two scouts into the room and closed the door. Now Garrison extracted a match from his pocket and used it to light the wick, filling the room with a dim yellow light. 

It was a typical safe house like so many others in occupied Europe. It had been abandoned well before the beginning of the war and had been given a new lease on life by the Resistance as a place of refuge. It had a sleeping room off the main one, a fireplace for cooking and heat, assorted chairs, and a cupboard with supplies. Goniff threw himself on the well-worn sofa with an air of settling in for the night. Chief made for the cupboard which, like in the fairy tale, was bare. With a look of resignation on his face, knowing he would have a hungry, cold first watch, the Indian walked past the con man and let himself outside.

Garrison made a check of the sleeping room. It was an added-on lean-to without any windows; the only exit being the door from the main room. There was a bed with a pillow and blanket atop a tick mattress and nothing else. Satisfied with its security, the lieutenant went back into the bigger room and motioned to General Horst that he could use the bedroom.

The general nodded to Garrison with a smile and walked into the bedroom with an air of it being his right and due. He missed the cool eyes of the Army officer and the older confidence man on his back. 

Garrison waited until the General had partially closed the door and they heard the bed squeak before joining Actor in a far corner of the room, away from the bedroom and Goniff. The group’s medic had pulled the aid kit from their duffle and was setting it up on the table. He motioned for Garrison to remove his shirt so he could address the wound. Craig pulled his arm out of the sleeve and let the shirt fall back off his shoulder, then took a seat on one of the chairs. The white handkerchief, now with a dark red stain of old blood on it, was stuck to the wound. Actor carefully peeled the material from the wound which began to ooze blood again. Garrison watched with dispassionate eyes as the Italian’s hands cleansed the ragged cut. It always amazed him how gentle the man could be. Garrison knew those hands could become big fists that packed a hard punch.

Craig looked up with stern eyes at his second. “All right, I want to know what the problem is,” he whispered firmly.

The mask of inscrutability was just as firmly on the Italian’s face. “I have no idea what ‘problem’ you are referring to,” was the reply as he continued to work.

“Don’t give me that, Actor,” said Garrison. It concerned him that Actor seemed to be mentally detaching himself from the mission. “I expect you to feel this guy out. I want to know if you pick up anything about him that isn’t right.”

“I already have,” replied the con man haughtily. “Have you not been steering him away from questions about our group? I believe it is more than idle curiosity.”

The glass cut would heal without sutures. Sulfa was applied to the injury with a gauze dressing and a wrapping around the lieutenant’s arm to hold it in place. Craig shrugged his arm back into the sleeve of his shirt as Actor closed up the kit. Garrison was growing more irritated. Nothing was going right, and Actor was not helping the situation with his attitude. With an effort, Garrison suppressed his irritation and said calmly, “As you noticed, I have been steering him away from those questions. I want your take on him.”

Actor’s eyebrows came together. He was not told everything that Garrison was briefed on. It was getting better, but for whatever reason, the lieutenant still did not trust him with the entire intel. Normally, he would have just ignored it and it was beneath him to have to ask. However, things were far from normal. “Did G-2 tell you they know him?” Actor hitched a hip on the corner of the table.

“No,” replied Garrison. “Just that they thought his information was legitimate. Why?” Craig thought he knew the answer to that, but he wanted to hear it from Actor. Despite his air of self-sufficiency, it always helped him to have the reassurance that his second was in agreement with his thoughts.

“I think we will find G-2 knows our good General Horst very well,” replied the Italian. “I would not be surprised if he is not playing both sides.”

Garrison had been wondering the same thing. He continued to bounce more off the savvy confidence man. “So why have us take him to England?”

Actor cocked his head in a shrug. “Possibly a part of what he has said is truth. Maybe things have become too hot for him here? He may believe if he brings important enough information out with him, he will be allowed to sit out the rest of war in England.” 

Garrison took it a step farther. “And he is trying to find out about our team so if we are captured or decide not to take him with us, he has valuable information to give to Hitler and justify his willingness to go with us.”

“That would be my guess,” agreed Actor. Now he asked the question that was on his mind. “What is your plan if Casino and Teresa are not at the rendezvous when we arrive?”

Craig really did not want to get into this with the older man. It was something that was weighing heavily on his own mind, but he could not let the con man know that. “We have to get the general to England. If they aren’t there, then they aren’t coming. Terry knew they were expendable when she broke off from the rest of us.”

“Expendable,” repeated Actor as though the word itself left a vile taste in his mouth.

“We are all expendable,” Garrison reminded him. “Me, you, and the others. Understand?”

“Perfectly, Lieutenant,” said Actor with his arrogant tone.

The tall Italian rose, turned on his heels and walked away. Garrison watched him in frustration. He didn’t want to leave the missing two behind either, but he had an obligation to complete the mission. There was no choice in the matter. He watched Actor let himself out the door into the darkness.

A few minutes later, the door opened again, and Chief slipped inside. The younger man shot a puzzled look at Garrison.

“He said he was takin’ first watch,” said Chief dubiously. Actor never volunteered for watch.

Garrison was seated at the table, studying the map. “Fine,” he said as though he was not concerned by the change.

Chief walked over to the sofa and hit Goniff’s leg with his hand. The little Cockney simply bent his knees up, making a space for the Indian to sprawl. Goniff was missing his safecracker buddy. Chief generally wasn’t talkative and since the conference with the Warden, Actor seemed to be in an even bigger snit than before, not that the older man ever had much to say to him anyway.

“Hey, Chiefy,” whispered Goniff.

“What?” replied the Indian, eyes on the man seated at the table.

“Wot d’you think ‘appened to Casino ‘n’ Terry?” 

“How would I know?” Chief hissed back at him.

Goniff did not take heed of the young man’s tone. “Warden don’t seem too interested.”

“Warden’s got a lot on his mind,” replied Chief, backing Garrison as usual.

Goniff took a furtive glance at the officer. Garrison seemed a little tense as he sat and smoked and Actor wasn’t acting normal, going out on watch. “So, wot d’you think’s the matter with Actor?”

Chief gave a small wolfish grin. “I don’t think Actor likes the Kraut.”

“Why not?” Goniff persisted.

Chief did not feel like playing twenty questions; especially since he didn’t know the answers. Irritation was in his voice when he said, “Goniff, go to sleep. You got next watch.”

“I’m hungry,” whined the Cockney.

Sometimes it was hard to remember the thin blond man was older than him. Chief gave him an irritated look. “There ain’t any food. Now will ya give it a rest?”

Goniff thought the Indian wasn’t bein’ too charitable, so he closed his eyes and willed sleep to come.

Chief slouched on the seat, deceptively relaxed. He wasn’t about to sleep and leave the Warden alone. Not until Actor came back in. The con man didn’t seem to sleep any more than Garrison when they were on a mission.

Two hours later, Chief let himself outside to take the watch from Actor. He found the man standing huddled against the cold by a tree, hidden in the shadows, just as the scout had taught him. He knew Actor had seen him leave the building and was not surprised when the man did not acknowledge him but continued to scan the area.

“Want me to take second watch?” asked Chief quietly.

“No,” replied Actor just as quietly. “Send Goniff. You need sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. I hope it will be an uneventful one, but in case it isn’t, you need to be fresh.”

“What about you?” asked Chief.

Actor shook his head. “I will sleep when we get back to England.”

Chief slipped back to their refuge and a minute later Goniff emerged just as stealthily. The slight man was not happy about having to take a turn out in the cold and said so in a low voice to Actor.

The con man merely looked down at him when asked why Chief couldn’t take the watch. Tamping down his exasperation, Actor told him it was because Chief would be driving all day tomorrow and would need sharp wits. With a sigh, Goniff took the con man’s place. Sometimes a fellow just could not get a break.

Chief was warming himself by the fire when Actor entered the room. The confidence man did not appear to be in any improved mood as he went closer to the fireplace, holding his hands out to the heat of the flames.

Chief glanced up at the con man. “Think Terry and Casino will be waitin’ for us at Le Havre?” he asked in a whisper that would not reach Garrison’s ears on the far side of the room.

Actor made a face. He should probably be positive about it, but he couldn’t be. “I hope so . . . but I don’t think so.” He ended the conversation.

GGGGG

The next morning found Casino awakening, surprised to find his head hadn’t been dumped on the floor sometime during the night. Terry simply got up off the floor when he did as though it was the most normal thing in the world for him to be sleeping on her. So much for thinking he was gettin’ somewhere with the girl. 

The abrasions had crusted over and hurt when they broke open with movement. Grimacing, he watched the girl put out the fire in the fireplace. “Okay, Babe, where we headed now?”

“Well,” said Terry straightening, “we came up on the back of the house last night when we were headed south. I figure the drive to this place also goes south to a road. We get to the road we turn right. That should head us west.”

“Yeah, and then what?” asked Casino, wondering just what she had up her torn sleeve for a plan.

Terry was not totally comfortable with being the leader and she was pretty sure the safecracker wasn’t comfortable at all with it. So far, he hadn’t blown a gasket at her, but she feared that would not last. She still wished either Craig or Actor was with them. “We walk until we get to a town. Then we steal something to eat, some new clothes, and maybe, if we’re lucky, a car.” 

Casino shook his head. “We’re gonna get caught.”

“Boy you sure are negative,” complained Terry. “For cryin’ out loud, you steal all the time on missions. Why can’t we do it now?”

“Cuz when I go in to steal a car and uniforms, I got Goniff with me not you. He can lift just about anything and not get caught.”

Terry restrained herself from pointing out that obviously Goniff could get caught or he wouldn’t be with the team. “Okay, so we don’t have Goniff and we’re stuck with me. You can still boot a car, can’t you?”

“I guess,” grumbled the safecracker. “But I ain’t gonna go unnoticed with a face like this.” He gestured to the road rash.

He did have a point there, but Terry wasn’t ready to agree with him on anything. “Okay, come on. Before we get to a town, you come up with a plan.” 

She headed for the door, but Casino caught her arm and pulled her back. “Let me scout it out first? Jeez, just go off half cocked . . .” He peeked around the curtain and surveyed out the window.

Terry clamped her teeth shut to keep from retorting. Half cocked? Her? He was the master at plowing on like a bull in a china shop. She smiled insincerely and gestured with her hand toward the door. “Be my guest.”

“That’s more like it.” Casino didn’t see that small hand ball up into a fist as he slipped out the door.

“Men,” she muttered behind his back. They always had to be in charge.

Satisfied the area was safe, Casino motioned for Terry to come along. She bounded down the steps and disappeared with him into the trees that lined the dirt track leading away from the house.

They reached the end of the track and found themselves on a road leading east and west. Terry led them west. The two stayed off the road and skirted through woods and small fields. Several times they had to crouch behind trees or flatten themselves on the ground behind bushes when a vehicle passed by. For the most part the vehicles were civilian; probably well-paid collaborators if they had money and access to petrol. There was an occasional German supply truck, but there did not seem to be anyone looking for them. Open fields were nerve-racking in there was no cover. They waited and listened for engine noise before sprinting across the fallow fields of uneven ground and dried broken corn or grass stalks. As they traveled farther west, the fields became fewer and farther apart and the woods heavier.

Terry had a vague idea where they were, but when they spotted a road sign, she took a quick look. She was relieved they were on the right track. Much farther ahead was a town and beyond that she knew where she could contact the Maquis, if they were still there.

It was close to noon when they reached the first village. Casino led Terry down an embankment, and they hid under a bridge that crossed a swiftly flowing river to decide what to do next. The safecracker crouched down to sit on his heels against the stone wall, the girl sitting down on a rock beside him. The sound of the river had them bringing their heads close together to talk without having to shout over the noise.

“Any ideas?” asked Terry in a whisper.

“We sure can’t walk through town lookin’ like we do,” said Casino. “We’ll have to walk around it.”

Terry nodded. It’s not that big a village,” she added.

Casino turned his head to stare at her. “You been here before?”

Terry nodded. “I told you I was here without you guys.”

He eyed her narrowly. “Safe bet you weren’t alone.”

“No,” replied Terry. “And I can contact the people I was with, but they’re about 30 kilometers from here.”

“Great,” grumbled Casino. He leaned back against the cold stone wall and wished for a cigarette and something to eat. Not necessarily in that order. “So, when’s the pickup at Le Havre?”

“Tonight,” admitted Terry.

“We ain’t gonna make it,” he said with certainty.

“I know,” she replied. “If Craig takes the sub back tonight, he will probably have it make the usual trip back tomorrow night.”

“Big help,” groused the safecracker. “We ain’t gonna be there then either.”

“Oh, ye of little faith,” Terry smiled and patted his knee.

“Yeah, and you haven’t got a clue how we’re going to get across the rest of France in time.”

Terry smiled to herself. She had more than a clue, but she did not want to have him balking at this stage. 

Casino frowned. “You really think the Warden would go back to England and leave us behind?”

“He won’t like it,” replied Terry, “but he doesn’t have much of a choice.”

She patted his knee again. “Come on, Heinrich,” she teased. “Let’s go see if we can find a car to borrow on the other side of this village. I really don’t feel like walking another thirty kilometers to where we can contact the underground.”

The two rose and climbed up the embankment to the road. They crossed the bridge on the side that would hide Casino’s face from any passing vehicles. He forced himself to walk slowly with his head down and affecting a limp. Terry followed dutifully behind him, like a meek spouse. Anybody seeing them would think they were peasants walking in from the country. On the other side, they scrambled down the embankment again and headed upstream in the cover of tall bushes and thin trees.

It took them an hour to skirt the village. On the other side, they finally had some good luck. An old two door car was parked under a tree close to a butcher’s back yard. Terry looked at the shop with a contemplative expression, wondering if she could lift some food. Casino guessed her intent and shook his head. He took her hand and they moved swiftly up to the front of the car. Casino lifted the side hood and looked inside. He reached both hands into the engine compartment and swore softly when his splinted fingers rammed hard metal. With the fingers held straight out, he could not get them through the wires to get a grip on the ones he needed to disconnect.

Terry was leaning against the fender, watching for anyone coming out to see what they were doing. “What’s the matter?” she hissed.

“I can’t get my hand in there,” grumbled Casino, trying in vain to get his fingers where he needed them.

Terry took another quick look around. “Tell me what to do,” she said, turning and nudging him aside with her hip. She looked down at the wires and metal parts. She could sometimes fix the pickup truck at home, but never really needed to with her two older brothers around. Shoulder to shoulder, they peered into the engine, both acutely aware of the other’s presence.

Casino hesitated half a second and then directed her which wires to pull and how to twist the ends and reconnect them to allow them to start the car. She did exactly as she was told, and Casino closed the hood back down when she was done.

“I’ll drive,” said Terry opening the driver’s door. “I know where I’m going.”

They didn’t have time for Casino to argue the point, so he sprinted around the front of the car and got in beside her. Terry pushed the starter button and the engine turned over. She put it in gear and drove away.

Terry laughed gleefully and proudly. “I did it! I hotwired a car!”

Great, thought Casino. He hoped she’d be a little less enthusiastic by the time they joined back up with the Warden. The lieutenant had told Casino he could teach her locks but had said nothing about teaching the girl to steal cars. Still her enthusiasm brought a grin to his face. He wondered if she would be any better than her brother at opening safes. The difference between the two was Garrison was learning more from necessity and Terry was learning because she wanted to. It was something to keep in mind when they got back to England . . . if they got back to England.

As they drove down the road, Casino took a look around the interior of the vehicle. Down on the floor was a soft cap with a brim. He picked it up and held it out to the girl.

“Here, put this on,” he said. “You look like a dame.”

“I am a dame,” she said wryly. “Does it have lice?”

Casino slapped the cap on the seat a couple times and didn’t see anything. “Don’t look like.” He held it out to her.

“Better not have any,” she warned him. Lice were a common problem with purloined clothing. “Take the wheel.”

Casino reached for the top of the steering wheel with his injured hand, splinted fingers sticking straight out. Terry took the cap, gathered her hair together atop her head and captured it in the cap she pulled down on her forehead.

They rode in silence for a while. Casino had to admit the girl’s driving had improved. Actor had started giving her lessons when he bought her that fancy car. They must have paid off. He found himself studying her. Even without make up, she was kinda pretty in a wholesome way. She was gorgeous when she was made up for a con. Way outta his league; not that he should even be contemplating anything along those lines. He envied the Italian with his close working relationship with the woman. 

Feeling his eyes on her, Terry shot him a glance. “What?”

Not about to tell her what he had really been thinking, Casino asked, “So what hospital in New York did you work outta?”

“St. Anthony’s,” she replied. “Were you ever in that one?”

“Naw,” Casino relaxed back against the seat where he could keep an eye on the side mirror for a tail. “What couple times I got hurt, I went to a doc in Jersey.”

It was Terry’s turn. “Okay,” she said, “I understand the locks and graduating to the safes and the bank heists. Where did you learn explosives?”

“My old man,” replied the safecracker.

Terry shot a longer look at him. “Your father taught you explosives? What on earth for?”

“Hey, Babe,” said Casino as though talking to a slightly dim-witted dame. “It was Prohibition. Heard of it? We were runnin’ booze down from Canada for Capone. And Pop had a still of his own up just inside the Wisconsin line. The Feds were always after us.”

“You crossed state lines?” Terry asked in surprise.

“Well we weren’t exactly gonna have the thing in the backyard, were we?”

“Guess not,” agreed Terry.

“We took care of North Chicago, Gurnee, and Lake Geneva. That area.” Casino was warming to his subject. “When the Feds were on us, we had to blow the still or dump a load. I learned how to blow up the trucks we used. The stills we put on timers.”

“So that’s how you learned to make timers,” said the girl.

“Right.”

“So why did you change to bank jobs?”

“They ended Prohibition. Put us outta business.”

Terry burst out laughing. “Did you ever think about getting a real job?”

The girl didn’t have a clue, thought Casino. She must have been stuck up on that ranch in the middle of nowhere too long. “Where? I didn’t know how to do nothin’ else. Besides, we were ‘wops’. Nobody outside of the neighborhood would give us a job. Pop got hurt on one of our runs and he couldn’t do any kinda work. My older brother and I had to make some pretty good money to keep up the folks and six kids.”

Terry sobered. “So, did you and your brother work together?”

“Naw,” Casino shook his head. “I stayed in Chicago and Joey went to New Jersey to work with Uncle Joe. Joey was named after Uncle Joe. Joey got caught during a heist and was in stir for a while. So, I got sent out to Jersey to take his place. When Joey got out, he went back to stay with the folks. Safer there.”

Terry shook her head. “Sure makes my life look boring.”

Casino snorted. “Boring? Sure, Terr, you were spendin’ summers in Italy.”

“And France and Germany . . . before Hitler, kind of,” she added.

“Yeah, but you still had Il Duce,” Casino reminded her.

“I was young,” the girl shrugged it off. “I didn’t pay much attention to him then.”

Terry started looking closer at their surroundings. Casino watched her, not saying a word. Whatever she saw she must have recognized because she slowed and eased across the bar ditch, carefully weaving between trees until they were far off the road. She killed the engine and they sat in silence for a bit. Gradually the sounds of birds and squirrels started again. 

The girl eased the car door open and got out. Just as quietly she closed it. Casino followed her lead on his side. They met in front of the vehicle.

“Now where?” he whispered.

Terry looked around and seemed to get her bearings. “This way,” she whispered back.

Back to having to trust her, Casino followed as Terry took off through the woods. They walked for twenty minutes, weaving around trees and bushes, before the girl slowed down. Casino felt like there were eyes on them. Before he could reach out to the stop the girl, a man dressed in rough garb with a rifle stepped out from behind a tree and pointed the gun at them. Two more equally rough looking men stepped into the open on either side of them. Casino froze. Terry stopped and held her hands out away from her body. Casino took a step forward with the notion of getting in front of the girl, but the clicking of guns being cocked ended that idea. Damn, where was Chief when yuh needed him?


	6. Chapter 6

The sun had not yet started to rise when Chief was awakened by Garrison. A curt nod of the Warden’s head brought him over to the table where the map was laid out. Chief shot a quick glance at Actor. The con man was sitting with deceptive ease in a chair at the table, smoking a cigarette, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle. The dim light from the oil lamp cast shadows across the angular plains of the man’s face, giving him an older, grimmer appearance. The attitude’s deception was pointed out by the fingers tapping on the table top. It was one of the very few nervous or agitated habits the man had. The Indian turned his attention to the map. Garrison pointed out their location and the roads they would follow to get to Le Havre and the alternate routes if they ran into roadblocks.

“You think there’s gonna be trouble this far out, Warden?” Chief asked.

“I think it’s possible,” admitted Garrison. The officer ran his hand through his hair. “Somewhere along the way we will have to switch vehicles again and put the general in civilian clothes. We’ll pass him off as our prisoner.”

Chief nodded. But he could tell that things were not going well with the two leaders. Both were upset, but both were trying hard not to show it. He knew he shouldn’t stir the pot, but Chief had to know.

“So where do we meet up with Casino and Terry?”

“Le Havre,” said Garrison shortly. “If they aren’t there, they’ll get themselves back to England.”

Chief stole a glance at Actor. The confidence man was staring at the floor, mouth firmly closed and lower jaw jutting out in tightly controlled anger. Obviously, Actor didn’t buy this explanation either. It wasn’t like the Warden to abandon team members; especially when one of them was his sister. Chief let it drop. He figured if anyone stood a chance of sticking up for the two missing members with the Warden, it would be Actor.

“So we leavin’ now?” he asked instead.

“Yes,” was Garrison’s almost curt reply.

Chief picked up his jacket from the back of one of the chairs and put it on, slipping out the door without a word. The cold night air hit him in the face, making the inside of the safe house feel warm by comparison, despite the chilly atmosphere. He hoped wherever Casino and Terry were, they had found a safe and warm place to hole up. As he hugged the shadows of the building walls, moving around to where the car was hidden, he was joined by Goniff.

The slight blond man was hugging himself to try to get some warmth, gun in one hand. Goniff kept glancing around as though waiting for the entire German army to suddenly appear.

“We leavin, Mate?” the Englishman whispered.

“Yeah,” replied Chief. He climbed behind the wheel and started the car up, letting the engine run to heat up. Instead of sitting there, he got back out and leaned against the black door.

Goniff eyed him worriedly. “So, what’s goin’ on, Chiefy? What about Casino and Terry?”

The Indian shook his head. “Sounds like if they aren’t at Le Havre, they’re on their own.”

“I don’t like that,” said Goniff with a frown scrunching up his gamin features. “Don’t sound like the Warden to leave ‘em on their own.”  
Chief pulled out a match and stuck it between his teeth. “I don’t like it either,” he admitted. “Actor ain’t acting like himself. And the Warden’s startin’ to sound like he did when we first formed up.”

Goniff’s frown deepened. He didn’t like it when a mission didn’t go smoothly. Not that any of them ever did. Still, this one sounded like it was only going to get worse. That German general must be worth a lot for the Warden to give up on team members.

Chief sighed and got into the car again. He eased it back out the woods and drove around to the front of the building, slow enough for the pickpocket to keep pace alongside.

Inside, General Horst emerged from the bedroom. He had heard movement in the front room and thought they might be getting ready to continue on. Garrison was getting the map and papers together. The confidence man seemed to be ignoring Horst. That suited the officer fine. The man’s aristocratic airs grated on the German. The tall man may have been an aristocrat playing a game, but that still made him a criminal, and not someone to waste his time with. The American officer had obvious good breeding. He also had a pack of German cigarettes. Maybe the officer would be willing to give one up. Horst wasn’t about to ask the Italian or whatever he was for another of those inferior French cigarettes the man smoked.

Without a word, the three men left the building and got into the waiting car.

GGGGG

Casino watched Terry’s hand slowly and cautiously reach up to pull the cap off, allowing her auburn hair to drop down around her shoulders. The eyes of the apparent leader narrowed.

“Trèfle?” 

Casino didn’t know what that word meant. From his position, he could not see the smile that came to Terry’s face.

“Oui.” She replied. “Rene?”

The leader nodded. He lowered his gun and motioned for the other men to do the same. What followed was a low-voiced rapid spat of French between Rene and the girl. The man turned and walked away, Terry following, the other men flanking them. Casino stepped up beside the girl and kept pace with her.

“Okay, Sister,” he whispered. “What’s goin’ on?”

“They are Maquis,” replied Terry. “They have a camp near here in some caves. We’ll be safe there for awhile and they have food. They can help us get to Le Havre.”

“Food?” was the safecracker’s first reaction.

It earned him an exasperated look from the girl that was tempered with a grin. Casino shrugged. 

As they walked on in silence, the way became narrower and narrower, until they ended up walking in single file. One of the un-named men walked point, followed by Rene, Terry, Casino, and the remaining two men. The path wound through woods littered with soggy, matted leaves and around and over escarps of rocky outcroppings. The little group walked at a fairly fast clip for almost a half hour before halting. A soft bird whistle from the leader was answered by a different bird call. The three escorts peeled off and disappeared like ghosts in the woods and bushes. Rene and Terry stepped forward between two tall green bushes. Casino could only follow.

Behind the bushes were two openings, the height of a medium sized man, which disappeared into rock. Bending a bit, Rene and Terry entered the one on the left; Casino behind them. The way turned further left for several yards until it opened into a huge room. The cave was dry with a sandy floor that had been cleared of stones and rock. A makeshift table of planks stretched across two small boulders was on their right, an oil lamp illuminating maps and papers. Three men in rough clothing and two women in men’s pants and jackets were scattered around the room. All were silently and warily watching the arrivals, the men with weapons close at hand. One of the women had a scabbarded bayonet tied around her waist.

Casino was beginning to wonder what they had gotten themselves into, when one of the women moved up to embrace Terry, grinning broadly.

“Trèfle!”

“Bèrthe!”

The two women hugged each other and chattered away in French. The atmosphere in the cave turned to one of acceptance of the new arrivals and people went back to their chores. Terry spoke in a low voice to the woman, who nodded seriously. Then the two went back to talking animatedly with their voices and hands. The Frenchwoman turned and disappeared down another side tunnel. 

Terry turned and walked back to Casino with a grin. “Let’s find a comfortable piece of dirt and wall to sit against. Bèrthe is going to get us something to eat from the other half of the cave.”

“Food would be good,” grumbled Casino. He glanced around warily. “These caves all connected?”

“Pretty much like a maze,” replied Terry.

They lowered themselves to the floor of the cave and leaned back against chill rough rock.

“Know your way around in here, do yuh?” asked Casino, trying to feel her out. He was a little annoyed that all what was being spoken was French that he didn’t know a word of. If he didn’t know better, he’d think Terry was tryin’ to keep him in the dark.

“Not a bit,” replied the girl. “I can get from one main room to the other, but I can’t get to where the guns and ammo are kept and don’t know all the back ways out. Wasn’t here long enough for that.”

“So, when were you here?”

Terry shrugged. “About a month or so ago. When you guys were on that long mission to the Netherlands.”

Bèrthe returned with two mismatched, chipped bowls that were steaming. The handles of roughly carved wooden spoons stuck out over the rims. The French woman, in her baggy and patched men’s clothing, handed a bowl to each of the newcomers. 

“Thanks,” said Casino with the idea of seeing a response to the English. Terry’s merci was over the top of his.

The woman, older looking than her actual years, smiled and nodded. Bèrthe tilted her head and studied the abraded side of Casino’s face. She shook her head and frowned with sympathy. Terry spoke to her in her native language, gesturing with an upraised elbow and nodding toward the man. Bèrthe questioned Terry and received an amused ‘no’ in response. More words were exchanged, and the Frenchwoman turned away and went back to her business.

“So, what was that about?” asked the safecracker, blowing gently on a spoonful of soup that was more broth than vegetables. 

“When we’re done eating, she will put some salve on your face and bandage it,” replied Terry between bites.

“And what was funny?” persisted Casino.

Terry smiled. “What does one woman ask another when there is a man involved?”

“Am I your husband?” guessed Casino.

Terry nodded. “I told her you are a friend.”

“What kinda friend?” he asked almost teasingly.

“She didn’t ask.” Terry frowned a little. “You have to realize, most of the women in the Resistance are widows or their husbands are in prison camps or missing. Many have lost their homes and entire families. They live on the run and fight side by side with the men in these cells. I’ve seen one group in Italy made up entirely of women. They don’t always share American ‘values’ because they are resigned to probably not surviving this war.”

“So what’s her story?” asked Casino curiously. “And the one with the broadsword.”

Terry grinned and blew on a spoon of soup before popping it into her mouth. “I don’t know. It’s safer if you don’t get too personal. We don’t use real names or learn too much of anyone’s background.” She sobered. “You can’t tell an interrogator something you don’t know.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

They finished eating in silence. Movement by the entrance tunnel drew their attention. Rene and two of his guards entered the big room. The French leader removed his coat and motioned Terry to come over to the makeshift table. She set her empty bowl on the ground and flowed to her feet, holding a spread hand out to keep Casino where he was. The safecracker watched her closely as she joined the Frenchman and they engaged in a serious conversation.

After a minute, his view was blocked by the woman called Bèrthe. She knelt on the floor beside him and dropped a roll of ripped cloth on his lap. Casino tried to keep one eye on Terry, but the Frenchwoman was keeping his attention. She scooped some salve from a jar and carefully coated the abrasion on his face with it. It didn’t smell half bad, but the safecracker could not identify the ingredients. He figured it was something along the lines of what Terry and Chief concocted. A gauze pad was placed atop the salve and the rolled cloth was wrapped under his chin and over his head. Now he felt like a mummy.

Bèrthe carefully pushed the shredded sleeve of Casino’s shirt up above the abrasion on his arm. More salve was applied, followed by another gauze and tied with a remnant off the roll of cloth. The hands that worked on him were big and rough skinned, but the touch was surprisingly gentle. Casino found himself looking into dark brown eyes beneath shoulder-length chestnut hair. The eyes searched his and a warm smile curved the unadorned lips. His smile reflected hers. His sleeve was slowly rolled back down his arm and the cuff buttoned, even though it did little to contain the shredded material above it. Bèrthe’s hand lingered on his as she carefully inspected the splinted fingers. 

Casino knew the invitation was there. He had a feeling, though, that Soldier Boy’s Sister would have something strenuous to say if he took off with this woman to find a nice quiet secluded spot of cave for some inter-cultural relations. 

As if conjuring up his travel companion, Casino heard Terry’s unhappy voice spouting French back and forth with the group’s leader. The safecracker watched, still unable to understand. Whatever was going on, it was not to Terry’s liking. She seemed to be objecting with words and gestures. The only thing Casino understood was ‘Le Havre.’ Rene spoke rapidly in a cajoling manner. Terry seemed to realize her objections were futile and, with a deep sigh, nodded in agreement. She turned away and walked back toward Casino. Bèrthe silently rose and walked away. So much for sneakin’ off for a little recreation, thought the safecracker. Well, there might be more opportunities.

Terry sank down beside Casino and leaned against the stone cave wall. She was obviously unhappy.

“Okay, Babe, what’s goin’ on?” asked the safecracker.

“We’re not going to make the sub,” said Terry.

“Didn’t figure we would,” said Casino with resignation.

Terry looked at him sharply with question.

Casino shrugged. “We got half a France to get across by tomorrow night. By ourselves? Ain’t happenin’.”

“I was kind of hoping we could make it,” admitted Terry in resignation.

“Don’t worry, Sweetheart,” said Casino. “Warden’ll wait for us.”

“No he won’t,” said Terry with certainty.

“Why would you think he’d leave you behind?” scoffed the safecracker.

“He has to get the information and that German general back to England.”

“So? He waits one more day.”

Terry shook her head. “He can’t.”

“Ten says you’re wrong, Babe,” Casino said with his usual cocky attitude.

“Twenty says I’m right,” countered the girl.

“Who’s gonna hold the money?” asked Casino.

Terry turned her head to stare at him. “Why? You got ten on yuh?” she copied his speech.

“No,” admitted the man.

“Well, I don’t have twenty on me.”

“That’s all right,” said Casino smugly. “I know you’re good for it.”

Terry glared at him. The glare faded and she cocked her head to study his new adornment. “She must not have gotten that too tight,” she remarked.

“Why?’ Casino eyed her cautiously.

“Because you can still talk.”

“Har, har, har,” said the man in disgust.

A small smile of satisfaction twitched at the girl’s lips. She settled back against the wall and the two watched the activity in their part of the cave. People came in singly or in pairs and got food, ate, and then disappeared back outside. 

Casino found it curious. “How many people they got in this group?” he whispered to Terry.

“There was about fifty last month. I don’t know how many now,” she whispered back. “Most of them stay scattered around the area.”

They sat, watching, without being obvious. It was quite a while later that there was a quiet commotion by the tunnel leading to the other half of the cave. The two Americans watched silently. Rene and a couple men were conferring with some of the others. After a bit, Rene approached and bent down to whisper in Terry’s ear. Casino strained to hear but couldn’t and figured it didn’t matter anyway because it would be in French. He watched Terry’s eyebrows rise and saw her nod. Rene straightened and held a hand down to help pull the girl to her feet.

Terry turned back to Casino. “I have to go take care of some business,” she said. “Uh, don’t go anywhere. It probably wouldn’t be healthy. I’ll be back.”

Casino was thinking this was his opportunity, until he saw Bèrthe enter the tunnel with Terry. “Yeah, an’ where would I go?” he sullenly asked the empty space around him.

The time stretched on and the cave darkened. Oil lamps and candles were lit, casting flickering shadows on the walls. As the light dimmed, the air seemed to grow colder. Still Terry did not return. Never one to sit still for any length of time, Casino finally climbed to his feet and started pacing. After some initially wary glances, the resistance workers ignored him.

Casino’s mind went to Bèrthe. She seemed willing enough, but she wasn’t Terry. Man, that Garrison girl was something else. She was a little too thin for his taste but getting more to eat would probably cure that. She was still soft in all the right places and he would really like to find out what those right places felt like tucked up against him. She wasn’t loose, that was for sure, but Casino would bet the farm she could be a wild one in the sack. He doubted he would ever get the chance to find that out. Still and all, he’d sure like to have her in his arms and her arms around him. Their sleeping arrangements the night before had just been a chaste taste of what could be. Even if Terry was willing, there was no privacy here. A quickie behind some boxes in a storage area might be all right with someone like Bèrthe, but not with Terry. 

He needed to get his mind off that subject, so he started worrying about the predicament they were in. Terry said they wouldn’t make the second sub. So where did that leave them? The Warden couldn’t put off getting back to England with that Kraut general for very long. He had never left one of the men behind before, for all his talk that they were all expendable. And what about leavin’ his sister behind? If Garrison left two of his people behind, what would the army do? It was no secret the Brass didn’t like the group. Would they just replace the missing two, or send the whole bunch back to prison? “Course it wouldn’t matter what the army did if he and Terry didn’t make it to Le Havre and England or if they were captured or killed. And if they were captured, who would know and how could the guys find them, sayin’ the guys could look for them. Great, this was just gettin’ better and better. Casino went back and sat down against the wall again, wanting a cigarette and not having one.

Terry traversed the narrow and low hanging tunnel that connected the room she and Casino were in with the one she had just left; her way lit only by the candle in her hand. Four British airmen had been spirited to this sanctuary by the Maquis after their bomber had crashed from a flak hit. The four were the only ones to survive and the woman doubted one of those would make it through the night. She and Bèrthe had tended wounds and sat with the youngster, who couldn’t have been more than 18 and most probably would not see nineteen. Terry had spoken to the other three men in French accented broken English. Her role had been to translate for Rene as he informed them of the next step in their journey to the Comet Line and down to the relative safety of Spain.  
This was the reason she and Casino would not make it to Le Havre in time to meet the sub. Getting forged papers for the airmen took precedence over obtaining them for the two Americans. The ‘con’ Terry and Rene had devised might work for the two, but not with the English airmen who spoke no French. Instead of catching a sub in Le Havre, transportation via a fishing boat would get them across the Channel to England. By herself, Terry had few qualms about her plan, but dragging a possibly recalcitrant Casino along might make things more than interesting.

She emerged into the large room, immediately spotting an annoyed safecracker, who stood up, arms akimbo watching her. Girding herself for a confrontation, she smiled and ambled up to him, blowing out the candle to make it last longer. “Don’t even ask, Casino,” she said wearily.

“Yuh been gone two hours,” griped the man.

“Yes,” replied Terry. “I don’t tell them what you and I do and I’m not telling you what I do with them,” she whispered. “Can it!” she hissed in an imitation of her brother.

The two locked eyes in a battle of wills. Finally, Casino shook his head and backed down. “Crazy woman,” he muttered.

“Probably,” she muttered behind him as he returned to the spot along the wall they had chosen for their own.

Terry walked over to two of the resistance women and handed them the candle. In return, she was handed a thin, ragged blanket. Shaking it out, she walked back to Casino with a dubious look on her face. It was echoed on his. The blanket would barely cover one of them. He took it from her and eyed it for crawly things.

“What are we s’posed tuh to do with this?” he asked.

“Share it I guess,” said Terry, settling down beside him, her uninjured side next to his uninjured side.

“Right,” grumbled the safecracker.

Casino slid down so he was lying on his back. Terry gave a mental shrug and slid down beside him. He gave the blanket a flick of his wrists and let it settle over the top of them. It didn’t cover much of either of them. Glancing at the girl, Casino lifted his arm and motioned for her to pick up her head. Sliding down a bit farther, Terry remained on her back, but let her head rest on his outstretched arm. What the heck, she thought; she had slept alongside Goniff more than once and leaned against Actor a couple times. It must be Casino’s turn. 

Well, he thought, it was a start.


	7. Chapter 7

The warmth from the car heater had not reached the backseat of the vehicle. Even if it had, the atmosphere was still chilly. General Horst, in civilian clothes, found himself again wedged in the middle of the backseat between the American officer and the European confidence man, who both wore German SS uniforms. He found this to be an uncomfortable position. Used to being in command, Horst was now powerless; his well-being, no, his life, in the hands of these two men.

The blond officer on his right was the easiest to deal with. Garrison had a recognizable military bearing, despite the odd group he commanded. For an American, Garrison seemed to be well-traveled. His knowledge of Berlin, while not current, was more than could be gleaned from books. His German was fluent Berlinisch. 

Horst was acutely aware of the man on the other side of him. Something had changed in the tall man’s demeanor. The one the others had called Actor remained haughty and seemingly disinterested. However, when their eyes met, the dark eyes seemed to be reaching into Horst’s mind. It was as though Actor knew he had a secret and it was only a matter of time before the man discovered what it was. Maybe Horst had dismissed him too easily. 

Garrison’s mind was working on two planes. His senses were alert both to the area around them and the people in the car. Danger could come from outside or even from the German beside him. Actor at last seemed to be getting back to normal. Craig had worked close enough with the con man now to know there was still something bothering him. Whether it was Horst, or the missing members of the team was the question. 

That brought another worry to the lieutenant’s mind. Zigzagging around towns, they were about six hours from Le Havre, barring anything unforeseen. There was always something unforeseen, Garrison thought cynically. Would Terry and Casino be there? That was a long shot. Damn Terry for acting on her own! Of course, her strategy had been sound, and it had given them an edge. Had she and Casino been able to lose their pursuers? Casino was good as a wheelman, but was Terry good enough as a leader? She followed the planning sessions on all of their missions but tended to leave the actual plotting and instituting of the plans to himself and Actor. On the two missions she had gone on with Actor, the confidence man had led the team. One thing was for certain, she would have her hands full with Casino. She must not have given him time to object to taking the other road. When they had reached safety, the volatile safecracker had most likely given her a big chunk of his mind. If they had reached safety.

GGG

The first roadblock the men encountered was a staff car stalled in the road. Chief slowed their car and crept forward. The hood was up on the stalled vehicle with a pair of uniformed legs appearing from under it. A major was standing close to the legs, obviously giving orders and demands judging by the gesturing going on. What caught the Indian’s attention was the man pacing at the back of the car. Goniff spotted him too.

“Bloody ‘ell! Is that a field marshal?” asked the Cockney with trepidation.

Actor leaned forward, trying to see over Chief’s left shoulder while Garrison was leaning on the back of the front seat to look between the two men. Actor leaned back in his seat and straightened his uniform. Garrison sat back and exchanged a look with his second across the German general.

“You are correct,” said Actor to Goniff, seemingly unperturbed. “That is a field marshal.”

Horst’s eyes darted between the men on either side of him. What would they do now? Neither outranked a field marshal. Sweat broke out on his forehead. What would happen to him if he were taken back to Berlin? He knew if would not be a simple firing squad. That sent a chill through his blood.

Actor’s expression showed none of the thoughts and options racing through his mind. This would have to be almost strictly off the cuff.

Garrison’s mind had been running just as quickly. “Can you handle this?” he asked.

Actor nodded. “I believe so.”

They exchanged calculating looks as Garrison continued. “We picked up a leader of a large section of Maquis who has been giving our troops a lot of grief. There are two members of his group on their way to Le Havre. The SS there is set up to apprehend them. We are taking this one so we may hold the initial interrogation of all three there before taking them to headquarters in Paris.”

Actor nodded again. It was as good of a plan as he could come up with. Garrison would have made an excellent confidence man. General Horst was another matter. The sweat and aura of fear from the man was not lost on the Italian, but he was satisfied it fit with the cover story the man had given them. He fully trusted Garrison to keep the man in check. As Chief brought the car to a halt, the now familiar SS persona settled over Actor’s features and his bearing. He waited for Goniff to get out and open his door for him. With a curt nod to the Englishman, Actor approached the field marshal.

The higher ranking officer paused in his pacing to watch the approach of the SS general. Actor came to a halt before the man with a sharp click of his heels and a fully extended arm salute with a “Heil Hitler” befitting the other man’s superior rank.

“Gruppenführer Hans Richter, Herr Generalfeldmarschall.”

Generalfeldmarschall Busch eyed the man in front of him before giving a brief raise of hand in response. The general was younger by at least fifteen years from the looks of him, with a strong bearing, though just the correct amount of deference to rank. The band on the coat sleeve indicated a jurisdiction outside of his own. The general reached in his inner pocket for his papers. A lifting of fingers indicated to the younger man this wasn’t necessary.

The con man’s face did not reflect his relief at not having to present papers that did not go with the name he had chosen. The name on the papers might possibly have given him away as the ‘kidnapper’ of Horst. Actor glanced toward the raised hood of the regal staff car. “My driver is an excellent mechanic if I may offer his services,” he said in perfect German.

The field marshal nodded. Actor reached a hand out toward his car and snapped his fingers, pointing toward the disabled engine. 

“Aw, shit,” groaned Chief from behind the wheel of their car.

“Just go fix it,” said Garrison tersely. “And don’t speak.”

Chief got out and walked over to the pair of legs hanging out of the engine. He saluted the major, receiving a brief nod in return. Chief slapped the near leg of the man in the engine and gave a jerk of his head to the man who looked back at him. The German climbed down and backed away so the new man could take his place. From the looks of the engine, the field marshal’s driver didn’t have a clue what he was doing. With a mental sigh, Chief went to work.

Actor took in the figure of the shorter, older officer before him. Graying neatly trimmed sideburns framed an eagle-like face. The man appeared tired and impatient.

“What is your destination?” asked the older man.

“Le Havre, Sir,” replied Actor.

Busch’s eyes went to the three men remaining in the car. He looked at the general with unspoken question.

“We have captured the head of one of the Maquis cells who has been wreaking havoc on our troops,” explained Actor. “We are taking him to Le Havre. Two of his co-conspirators are reported to be on their way to Le Havre. The SS there will apprehend them. We will hold the preliminary interrogation of the three there before removing them all to headquarters in Paris.”

Busch nodded and frowned. “You have come up from the south?”

“Yes, Herr Generalfeldmarschall,” answered Actor, afraid of where this was going.

“What have you heard of the defection of General Horst?”

Actor raised his eyebrows. “My concentration has been on the capture and transportation of my prisoner. I have heard vague rumors of the general’s defection or capture.” Actor sighed. “I assure the Generalfeldmarschall that the man in my custody is not General Horst. I would be pleased to have my prisoner brought before you for your inspection.” It was a gamble the confidence man hoped the man would not accept.

“Not necessary,” assured Busch. He had enough on his mind without taking on a problem that was already being addressed.

The older officer sent a look at the new pair of legs extending from the broken engine of his vehicle. Absently, he reached for his silver cigarette case, belatedly remembering as he opened it that he smoked the last cigarette ten miles back. General Richter removed a cigarette case from his pocket and held it open.

“My apologies,” Actor said. “They are French. I have run out of good German or Sobranie cigarettes.”

“This will be fine,” replied Busch, selecting a cigarette. 

Actor shut the case and slipped it back in his pocket, quickly producing his lighter as the field marshal placed the cigarette in his holder and tilted his head to allow Actor to light it for him.

“I am not familiar with General Horst,” said Actor in conversation.

Busch took a soothing breath of smoke and exhaled slowly before answering. “We believe he is attempting to defect to the Allies. He was friends with one of the men in our Führer’s inner circle. Close friends,” he said with distasteful emphasis.

“Homosexueller?” asked Actor. That would explain the need to find protection with the Allies.

“Yes,” affirmed Busch. “Whether it was merely a personal relationship or Horst was extracting information from Herr Bergmann is unknown. We wish to find out which it was, discover his connections and terminate General Horst. Unfortunately, Herr Bergmann did not give us any information and was eliminated. As you know, our Führer does not tolerate such – proclivities.”

“Naturlich,” responded Actor with derision in his voice that wasn’t entirely an act.

The faulty engine coughed twice and turned over. Both officers looked up in relief. Chief climbed down and shut the hood firmly. As he turned toward the two men, he stiffened and gave the straight-armed salute. Busch nodded to him and Actor gave an impatient gesture for him to return to their car. Chief ducked his head and hurried back to their staff car.

Now that things were going well, Busch smiled. “An excellent mechanic as you say. Would you be willing to switch drivers?” he asked in jest.

Actor laughed, covering his apprehension. “My sister would have me castrated, Herr Generalfeldmarschall. He is a relative of her husband and has been entrusted to me to keep him safe.”

Busch nodded with a smile, his mood greatly improved. “He is rather dark, is he not?”

Actor shook his head. “Somewhere there must be an ancestor who was not completely Aryan.”

“Pity.”

Actor decided it was time to get out of there. “I wish Herr Generalfeldmarschall a good trip without further problems.” He saluted again.

Busch gave a distracted salute in return, mind already back on his journey and the time he needed to make up to reach his destination. The con man waited until the officer had been assisted into his vehicle by the major before turning and returning to theirs.

“Everything good?” asked Garrison as his second settled into his seat and Goniff closed his door.

“Yes.”

Garrison looked at the Italian, surprised there was nothing more forthcoming.

Horst looked at Actor and felt a stab of fear. The hazel brown eyes were like ice. He knows thought the general. Somehow, he knows. 

Garrison did not like to have to question his second and stifled his irritability as he asked, “Anything said about Gen. Horst?”

“Yes,” replied Actor. “They are looking for him.” Actor looked straight at Horst. “He also mentioned a Herr Bergmann had been executed.”

The general’s face turned the slightest shade paler.

“And who is Herr Bergmann?” Garrison was beginning to think it would be like pulling teeth to get anything out of the con man. The change in Horst was not lost on him either. Actor was playing some kind of cat and mouse game with their charge and Garrison didn’t like it.

“An acquaintance,” said Horst hurriedly.

The conman contemplated what he had just learned about the good General Horst. He had been having a sexual liaison with another high ranking officer. Hitler might protest an intolerance of homosexuality in his inner circle, Goering being an exception, but there seemed to be quite a bit of it throughout the Reich. Actor had been known, especially in his younger days, to take part in some interesting sexual exploits, but that particular bent was not one of them. Nor did he entertain any desire to experiment in that realm.

Actor took a cigarette from his case, not offering one to the general. He lit it and took a puff before uttering quietly in Italian. “Finocchio.”

It took Garrison a moment to search his brain for the translation. Fennel? The slang meaning of the word sunk in. He looked at the now closed face of Actor. So, the man did have some prejudices. Probably brought up Roman Catholic and in an era of Fascist intolerance, it was small wonder for all the man’s worldly ways. Garrison wasn’t too tolerant of it himself, but had been trained to put his prejudices aside. There were some cultures that did not frown on the sexual liaison between two men. Germany prior to Hitler had been rampant with homosexuality in the upper classes. Now it was grounds for execution or internment in concentration camps along with the Jews. Well, as long as Horst made no moves on anyone and Actor kept a lid on it, they should be able to make it through the mission. Garrison still wondered what else could go wrong.

GGGGG

Casino was awakened by something tickling his nose. He opened his eyes and discovered the ends of Terry’s hair curled around his face. He carefully pulled his head back to free it from the auburn strands, surprised at the position he was now in. He remembered going to sleep with Terry on her back, shoulder to shoulder with him, the thin blanket spread over them, but not quite covering either. Now he was on his right side, tucked up against the girl’s back. Their legs were bent so, if upright, she would be sitting in his lap. Her head rested on his outstretched right arm. His left arm was over her ribs, hand on her chest, splinted finger pillowed on a breast. Casino held very still, torn between appreciation and apprehension. Terry remained asleep. He wondered if she was aware of the position they were in. If the Warden ever found out, Casino was sure he would be on a rapid one-way trip back to Leavenworth. Still, she felt real good pressed up against him. Slowly and carefully, and with some regret, he moved his hand, so it was no longer in contact with her breast.

Now he could say he had slept with the Warden’s sister. Not that he had any intentions of mentioning that fact to anyone. He thought about easing onto his back so if she woke up she might not be upset, but the blanket wasn’t covering much of him and it was still darned cold in that cave. He stayed still, savoring the proximity of the woman.

It wasn’t long before there were stirrings from the other occupants of the cave. As people got up and began moving around, Terry awakened. The first thing she noticed was her back was pressed against a decidedly male body. It took her only a second to get her bearings and realize who was tucked tight to her. As she turned her head to look over her shoulder, Casino rolled onto his back. Terry sat up stiffly. Muscles and abrasions were reluctant to move due to the cold and the hard ground.

“Sleep good, Babe?” asked Casino.

“Apparently.” 

Her voice was flippant. She was unwilling to let him know she missed his warmth against her back and the feeling of male body. Boy, she had done without for too long if she was missing sleeping with the safecracker. Still, she had to admit he had a nice figure. Casino had no problem strutting around the mansion on warm days in his underwear. And she had bandaged his ribs for a bullet graze after a mission. Enough of that. She flowed, not too agilely to her feet, stretching kinked muscles. Turning, Terry looked down at the safecracker and couldn’t quite stifle a laugh.

“What?” asked Casino with narrowed eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Terry grinned. “You remind me of those cartoons of the little kid with his head wrapped up because of a toothache.”

“Thanks, Sister,” he replied grumpily. Here he was thinkin’ about her as a desirable woman and she was thinkin’ he looked like a kid. Terrific, just terrific.

She could tell she had obviously insulted him. That was better than him knowing what was really going through her mind. She smiled. “I have to go check on something in the other part of the cave. Be back in a little bit.”

“Take your time,” Casino said sarcastically.

He missed the amused grin on the woman’s face as she turned and walked away. Casino watched her back, appreciating the innate grace in her walk, despite the rough clothing and surroundings. He found himself wondering how Actor did it. The man’s quick and predictable response to any attractive woman was no secret. Actor had to work closely with Terry, dancing with her, kissing and touching her with a display of passion. It had to be difficult for the consummate ladies’ man to maintain his distance and cool his ardor with Garrison’s sister. It almost made him feel sympathetic toward the confidence man . . .almost.

Terry made her way, bent down, through the low tunnel that connected the two main rooms of the cave. As she straightened in the second room, she noted the British flyers were gone and there was no sign of their ever having been there. 

Rene and some of the men were at another makeshift table, studying plans and maps. He was immediately aware of Terry’s entrance and walked over to her.

“They got out all right?” asked Terry in English.

“Yes, they are on their way south,” replied Rene, also in English. “Your false papers will be ready tomorrow. You are in luck. The plan you have for getting to Le Havre has been backed up by our British friends.”

Terry looked at him curiously. “How?”

Rene grinned and patted her arm. “They bombed a town farther to the east. Their bombs did not sufficiently damage the munitions factory, but they did partially destroy the town. There are many dead, and very many injured refugees on the roads trying to get to family in other towns. Your ‘husband’s’ injuries require a surgeon. You have family in Le Havre where they have a good hospital. Tomorrow, you will be taken to Avranches where you will stay in one of our safe houses. The next day you will get on a train for Le Havre.”

Terry frowned. “The sub meeting the rest of our group was there last night and possibly tonight, but not after that.”

Rene nodded. “There is a fishing boat that will take you to England.” He shrugged. “It is the fastest we can get you there.”

Terry smiled and nodded back. “And we do appreciate your help.” 

Inwardly she groaned. She had no idea what Craig would do if they did not show up in time. Terry had no expectation that he would wait a third day for her and Casino. It was too dangerous to wait with the general. She had no way of getting in touch with Craig until she was back in England. Now the next hurdle was to inform Casino of the plan to get to Le Havre.

GGG

“Oh no, Sister! Not in this lifetime! I ain’t walkin’ around lookin’ like this. And I ain’t getting’ on a train fulla Krauts to ride to Le Havre and the Warden ain’t even gonna be there to get us.”

Terry counted to ten before responding. “Well, unless you can come up with a better plan, you’re going to have to trust me. I speak French and German. You don’t have to say a word. In fact, you can’t say a word.”

“Trust you? I’m suppos’ta trust you?”

Terry looked up into the glaring, angry countenance of the safecracker. The effect was almost offset by the bandage wrapped around his head. She wondered how her brother kept his temper with the volatile safecracker because hers was slipping. 

“Yeah, you’re supposed to trust me. Who was it on that first mission that kept you from getting shot . . .Heinrich? And who got you to the pickup when we were boxed in? You forget that all of a sudden?”

The two glared at each other. Terry did not back down, and Casino had to hand that point to her. 

“Okay, let me get this straight,” said the angry safecracker. “I’m supposed to be your husband. We got bombed and my jaw’s broke. We’re gettin’ on a train what regularly cares Jerries to Le Havre and there’s no sub and no Garrison. We just walk to a safe house and that night we leave on a fishin’ boat.” Terry nodded. “And you think we’re going to get there?”

Terry nodded again.

Casino turned away in disgust. “Your schemes are as crazy as your – the Warden’s!” 

“Thank you,” said Terry with a false tone of pleasure at a compliment. 

“I say we go to Switzerland,” grumbled Casino.

“Switzerland? You know how far it is to Switzerland? You know how far it is to Le Havre? Now who’s the crazy one?” The man’s unbelievable thought Terry.

“Yeah, I know,” Casino backed down. He turned a half grin toward her. “Next time you get some notion to take off on your own, take Actor with you an’ not me. He can keep you under control.”

Terry snorted in disgust at that one. “Yeah, well, next time you decide you want to go to Switzerland, take Actor with you. He might actually get you there.” Just to get rid of you, she did not add.

He was right. This mess was her fault. She could admit that to Craig, but not to Casino. It took her a moment to notice Rene was leaning against the rock wall with crossed arms and a grin of amusement on his face that was echoed by the others in the room.

“Do you need assistance, Trèfle?” the resistance leader asked in his native tongue.

“No,” she replied pleasantly.

Casino looked at her. “You can’t tell me these people don’t speak English.”

Overpatiently, Terry replied. “This is France. These people are French. They speak French.” And most of them spoke at least some English, but he didn’t need to know that.

Casino shook his head and walked away to sit on a barrel away from her. Terry closed her eyes and sighed. Now that Casino had said it, she wished the confidence man had come with her. At least he would have had them to the sub on time. She just bet the suave Italian was sitting in a nice comfortable safe house in Le Havre waiting for the night and the sub to arrive.


	8. Chapter 8

Actor casually took a slow inhalation from his cigarette and eyed the crouching soldier who was looking into the back of the car. The con man was acutely aware of the ring of guns pointed at their vehicle. The apprehension he felt did not show in the bored, slightly annoyed manner he was presenting.

“This man is our prisoner,” he said with a tone of barely suppressed anger. “Now allow us through.”

“I need to see your papers,” insisted the Leutnant.

Actor straightened sharply and fixed the lesser officer with his famous SS glare. “I am SS. You do not need to see my papers and you will not see them. Now tell your people to move or they will be run over,” he blasted in German.

Actor tapped Chief’s shoulder sharply and made an imperative motion for him to drive forward. Chief did not understand the German but did understand the hand signal. He put the car into gear and pulled away, not slowing for the soldiers in front of them. They scattered and the occupants of the car thought they were free and clear.   
One of the very young soldiers, who had thrown himself on the ground out of the way of the vehicle, brought his rifle up and took a shot at the passing car. The bullet flew through the open side window of the front seat, striking Goniff in the arm. Chief downshifted and tromped on the gas pedal. Actor and Garrison turned backwards but held their fire as no more shots were forthcoming.

Actor kept watch out the back window as Garrison leaned over the front seat and tried to assess the damage to the pickpocket. The blond head was facing straight forward, one hand gripping his upper right arm.

“Blimey,” Goniff breathed.

Craig looked forward to see what had the man’s attention. A bullet hole had appeared in the windshield; a spider web of cracks radiating out from it. At least the bullet had passed through the pickpocket’s arm and not lodged in it.

“How’s the arm?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” replied Goniff slightly in shock from getting hit from behind. “Okay, I guess.” 

“Can you get the first aid kit from under the dash?” coaxed Garrison.

Chief had glanced in the rearview mirror. “Uh, Warden, our passenger all right?”

Craig’s head swiveled around. Horst was pale and sweaty. His eyes found the lieutenant’s. Scared, thought Garrison. Actor turned back in the seat and glanced at the German without much sympathy.

“Watch him,” Craig ordered the Italian.

“Of course, Lieutenant,” Actor said formally.

Great. What else? Garrison turned back to receive the bloody aid kit that was held over the back of the front seat. Goniff’s even bloodier hand went back to clutch the arm wound.

“Want me to stop somewhere?” asked Chief with concern.

“No, keep going,” replied the officer. “Give me your blade.”

Chief released the shiv from its arm sheath and handed it back. Garrison snapped it open and nudged Goniff’s hand aside. He slit the sleeve and bared the wound. It was bleeding freely, but without the pulsing of an artery.

“Does it need stitching?” asked Actor with genuine concern.

“Probably,” replied Garrison as he tried to work over the back of the seat. “But it’ll have to wait until we get to the safe house.”

He sprinkled sulfa powder on the entrance and exit wounds, placed a padding of gauze over each hole and wrapped the arm tightly with a roll of gauze. After closing up the aid kit, Garrison laid a hand on the Englishman’s shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

“Are you going to be okay for another hour?” he asked.

Normally Goniff would be complaining as though he were dying, but there was nothing normal about this mission, so he just nodded.

GGG

It was late afternoon when they arrived in Le Havre. Chief wound at a sedate speed through the streets that seemed overly filled with German uniforms and vehicles. Garrison quietly gave him directions until they reached the road that paralleled the harbor. They continued on until the area cleared and the military and supply ships were replaced by fishing vessels. Hidden in a narrow and dark side street, hats and German uniform jackets were removed. Then, Garrison had Chief pull to the boardwalk in front of a fish market.

After a couple minutes, a man emerged from the fish market. He was thin and wiry, clad in the clothing typical of a fisherman. He approached the car and Garrison rolled down his window. 

“May I help you?” asked the man in French.

“We were just admiring the beautiful sunset,” replied Garrison in the same language.

The man looked at the small harbor which was beginning to gather evening fog. “Yes, it is a most beautiful sunset. And there is supposed to be a full moon tonight,”

The moon was going to be waxing crescent.

“Philippe?” asked Garrison. 

“Garrison?” the man asked in return. With a nod from Garrison, Philippe smiled and motioned the men to enter the market. “Come. I will have one of my people hide the car.”

The men got out of the car and filed into the store. Caution made them wary.

The Frenchman noted the bandage on Goniff’s arm. “One of you is wounded. I will send up a first aid kit.” 

He motioned them to a set of wooden stairs in the back of the building that led upstairs. They entered a small apartment. It had a sitting room with a sink and two burner stove. A bedroom opened from the back of the room. It would be comfortable enough for the brief time they would be there.

“I will send up food and supplies for you,” said Philippe, turning back toward the door.

“Wait,” said Garrison.

The man turned back and looked questioningly at the young officer.

“Two of our people were separated from us,” said Garrison. “Have they arrived or has any word been received regarding them?”

Philippe noticed the eyes of all the men were on him. He shook his head. “I am afraid not. You are the first to arrive. Perhaps they will be along shortly.”

No one in the room thought that was likely. The room was quiet as Philippe left them. Actor motioned Goniff to take a seat at the table. The priority right now was tending the pickpocket’s wound. And it would keep Actor’s mind off useless speculation on Teresa and Casino’s whereabouts. With one gun between the two of them, Germans on their tail and many miles between them and the safe house, the odds on their survival were not good.

Goniff remained silent as the big man unwound the bandage around his arm. Warden wouldn’t leave Casino and Terry behind . . . would he? He shot a glance at the general, who was making himself at home in an overstuffed chair. It was obvious Actor didn’t like the bloke. And ole Actor could be relied on to accurately sum up a man’s character. The Italian started peeling Goniff’s jacket off, catching the Englishman’s attention. The arm hurt pretty badly even though Actor was being careful. The Italian murmured an apology for the pain he was causing.

“It’s all right,” answered Goniff.

As Actor was unwinding the bandage Garrison had applied, Philippe returned with first aid supplies. Garrison was at one window, alternately watching his second stitch up the wound and looking outside for any sign of danger or his missing people. Chief was at the other window doing the same. The general was sitting in the stuffed chair, not watching anything, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. 

The con man finished redressing the injury and patted Goniff on the shoulder as he got up. The Italian looked at Garrison with a closed expression.

“Lieutenant, a word in private if I may.” It was more of a statement than a question.

Garrison had been waiting for this and dreading it. He knew what he had to say Actor would not like. At this point, he wasn’t sure what the Italian would do. He hadn’t been acting right since Terry and Casino had split from the group. He waited a few seconds to gain the upper hand and nodded.

“We need to plot this out,” he said, letting the drape drop back over the net curtain in the window. 

Garrison led the way into the bedroom, followed by Actor. The two other men from the group watched in silence. Actor was almost always their spokesman when there was a conflict with the lieutenant. They knew they were all on the same page regarding leaving the two missing members behind. Neither had a clue how the coming confrontation, and it would be a confrontation, between the officer and the con man would turn out.

Behind the closed door, the two men faced each other, neither sitting to give even more of an advantage of height to the other. Both wore closed faces.

“You have a plan?” asked Actor to start the conversation in a low voice.

Garrison nodded. “The priority is getting General Horst to England where he can be . . . debriefed.”

Actor knew that was the mission’s priority but wondered if it was the Lieutenant’s. “The sub will return tomorrow. That leaves another twenty-four hours for Casino and Teresa to catch up with us.”

“It can’t wait that long,” countered Garrison. “By now the SS and Gestapo will be looking for the general here in Le Havre. I have to get him out tonight. We go tonight.”

“And what about Casino and Teresa? Do they know how to catch the sub? And what if they are in trouble? We are not going to attempt to find them?” The con man’s irritation was beginning to edge into the tone of his voice.

Garrison hated to utter these next words. “We are going to England tonight.” It was said firmly beneath a no-nonsense expression.

The Italian’s warm hazel eyes turned to coal. “You have no intentions of trying to find them? Teresa is your sister! You are just going to leave her behind? You are going to leave Casino behind?” Actor demanded answers. When none were forthcoming, he went on scathingly, “Ah, safecrackers are a dime a dozen. Prisons are full of them. What about sisters? You have two more so this one does not matter?”

Garrison shook his head. Actor was way past insubordination, but he was right. This was the nightmare he had feared since Terry had joined their group. No, he did not want to leave her behind, nor Casino either. Unfortunately, he could not back down under the older man’s barrage.

“Terry knew the consequences when she made the decision to split up.” Craig spoke with military bearing. “She knew the importance of getting the general to England.”

Actor shook his head, not willing to give up. “Then let one of us take the general to England and let the rest go after them.” Garrison could not look at him; something the con man noticed. He knew the Warden well enough to realize the man was trying to hide his true feelings. Actor continued, but his voice changed to gentle reason. “If one of us gets the general to England and the others stay here, they cannot prevent us looking for the other two.”

Craig stared at an invisible spot on the wall and contemplated the consequences of this action. If he sent Actor, the confidence man would be sent back to prison. If Garrison went without the rest of the men, they would put him in the stockade and court-martial him for real this time. Actor was the logical one to leave behind. He had a better chance of finding the missing two, and he had a better chance of getting them all out to safety, be it Switzerland, Sweden, or parts unknown. Slowly he turned his head to look at Actor.

“Find them. Get them all out of here.” Garrison paused and braced himself to say the next part. “Don’t come back to England.”

Actor looked at the man he considered a friend besides a leader. The gravity of that last sentence was not lost on him. The confidence man’s voice softened, “Let me take the general. They will prosecute you.”

Craig gave a resigned grin. “They’ll prosecute me anyway. You, they will send back to prison. And I don’t want that on my conscience.” Soberly, he looked up at the older man. “Besides, we both know you have a better chance than I do of finding Terry and Casino and getting them to safety.” He paused and looked back at the man who somewhere along the line had become a friend. “Find my sister. Keep her safe.”

GGGGG

Unable to sit by and idly do nothing, Terry had joined the women in cooking for the large group that straggled in and out through the day, expecting food. She tried to ignore Casino. Part of her annoyance with the safecracker was from awakening pressed tightly against him and enjoying it. 

Casino alternately paced, sat, and cursed under his breath. He knew he was being watched by the resistance people. What did they think he was gonna do? Escape? Where? He didn’t even know where they were. Besides, he looked like a freak with this bandage around his face. That thought led to him wondering if maybe Bèrthe would come change it and he could try again for a little action.

It was early afternoon when a small band of scruffy men arrived carrying a metal box between two of them. A closed lock hung on the front. The box was placed on the end of the worktable. Casino watched in interest until one of the men approached with a crowbar.

“Hey, wait!” the safecracker called out. He looked askance at Terry. “Don’t they know how to pick a lock?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “You have your spring steel?”

“Sure.”

Terry spoke to Rene in rapid French. The leader looked at Casino in interest and motioned him closer.

“Why don’t you teach them how it’s done?” Terry suggested to Casino.

“I don’t speak their lingo, but I’ll open it for ‘em.” 

Casino walked up to the box, prying the spring steel from around his back teeth. The men stepped a little closer and watched as he worked the lock. In under a minute it was open. He removed it from the hasp and stepped back. There were a couple pats on the back and some words he didn’t understand. He remained close while Rene opened the box. Casino’s eyes widened. The box was filled with Reichsmarks. 

The safecracker’s eyes went to Terry’s. “Where did they get that?”

“German payroll,” Terry said with a grin.

“Jeez, they’re gonna have the whole German army down on us.” It didn’t stop him from accepting a handful of bills shoved at him.

Rene spoke to Terry who shrugged in reply. “Hey, Casino, Rene’s wondering if you wouldn’t mind teaching some of his people how to do that.”

“Yeah and how am I s’posed tuh explain it?” he asked with a cocky look.

“Just show them,” replied Terry in exasperation.

It was a little while later that another of Rene’s men arrived with a packet. There were papers for both Casino and Terry making them a husband and wife from the town the RAF had bombed. There were train tickets to Le Havre and a small amount of cash. Rene explained the set up to Terry who then explained it to Casino. The next day they would move to a safe house in a town along the train line. Their train would leave for Le Havre at 8 a.m. the following morning. In the port city, they were to meet up with local resistance and wait in another safe house until a fishing boat took them to England that night. As expected, Casino wasn’t pleased with the arrangements. He thought taking a train was too dangerous; especially a train that would be loaded with German troops. Terry was more philosophical about it. Where better to hide than in plain sight?

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Terry working with the women and Casino using sign language to teach some of the men how to pick a lock. Someone produced some bits of spring steel and the safecracker fashioned more lock picks.

Supper was a repeat of lunch and the previous dinner. The pot was kept on the fire and ingredients added to it as they became available and contents got low. Afterwards, Terry worked with Rene on their plans and other things the resistance leader had for her. Bèrthe, who had been absent the entire day, showed up and sat with Casino. 

It was quite a while later before Terry realized the safecracker was nowhere to be seen. Only slightly concerned, she asked one of the women if she knew where the American man had gone. The woman gave Terry a knowing look and informed her he and gone off with Bèrthe. With a shake of her head, Terry accepted the same ratty blanket and curled up on the floor where they had spent the previous night.

GGG

The next morning, Terry was up and folding the blanket when Casino sauntered up. She recognized the look on his face from seeing him on other mornings after a night of recreational activities. She didn’t acknowledge it.

“Miss me, Babe?” asked the safecracker.

“Not particularly,” she replied.

“Not even a little bit?” he teased.

“Why should I?” Terry asked unconcerned. “I got the blanket to myself last night.”

She noted the bandage wrapped around his face was new. The lower half of his face was getting quite bearded. The least Bèrthe could have done was find some time to shave him, thought the girl.

“When we leavin’,” asked Casino, slightly annoyed the woman didn’t seem at all perturbed by his absence.

“In another hour,” replied Terry. “Get some breakfast. It’s going to be a long walk.”

“Walk?” objected the safecracker. “What happened to the car?”

“It’s been reported stolen.”

“Great.”

Terry watched him walk away. Not for the first time she wondered where her brother and the others were and if they had gotten away safely. She knew if they had made it to Le Havre and had not caught the sub the first night, they would have caught it last night. Hopefully they were safe in England by now.


	9. Chapter 9

“Find my sister. Keep her safe.”

Actor sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the door that had just closed behind Garrison. His face was rigid as the Warden’s words rang in his ears. Merda! When had this mission gone so to hell? He had fumbled a con, freezing when confronted by someone from his real past. It might well have resulted in the capture or death of Teresa. He should have been alert that something like this could happen. This was something he could not forgive himself for. And Garrison had saddled them with a defecting general whom Actor would have no problem turning over to the Gestapo, if left to him. Teresa had taken matters into her own hands and left with Casino to give the others a better chance at escape. The whereabouts of the two was unknown as was the state of their wellbeing. Garrison was taking the general to England, leaving the cons behind. There would be repercussions to this; anywhere from a reprimand to the ending of the soldier’s career with a court-martial and a subsequent civil indictment for assisting the escape of convicted felons. The con man got the impression Garrison thought it would be the latter, maybe based on whatever had happened in the young man’s past that left him a first lieutenant in his late twenties when he should be a captain or a major.

Suddenly, Actor was in charge. In charge of Chief and Goniff’s welfare and freedom. In charge of finding the missing members and keeping the Warden’s sister safe. Now he found himself with more responsibility than he had ever had in his entire forty years. Life had been so much simpler before joining this group. Simpler and lonelier. He brushed that thought aside. The first priority was finding the missing two. He would do everything in his power to find her – them.   
There was nothing to be gained by sitting here. With a deep breath in and a slow exhalation, the usual inscrutable mask slipped back into place and he rose, going to join the others in the main room.

Nothing was said by either Garrison or Actor about the plans for the group. They made a small supper of fish and greens provided by their host. Goniff whined that the fishes would be swimmin’ in ‘is stomach the whole trip back to England on the sub. His complaining was ignored.

At midnight, Philippe entered the apartment and approached Garrison. “Robert will take you out to the sub in his fishing boat,” he said. “You must hurry.”

Actor remained seated at the table, packing a pipe as the others rose to their feet. Garrison motioned for the general to go to the door. As the German made his way to the door, giving the Italian at the table a wide berth, Garrison held a hand out to his other two men.

“Chief, Goniff, you’re staying here with Actor,” he said.

This drew a sharp look from Chief and frown of worry from Goniff.

“We’re not goin’ wif you?” asked the Englishman.

“No,” replied Garrison. 

“So we goin’ after Casino and Terry?” asked Chief.

“Yes,” replied Garrison. He did not mention they would not be going back to England. “Actor’s in charge,” he said unnecessarily. 

It did not bring any response from the con man. Chief and Goniff remained silent as the lieutenant took a long look at each of them and left the apartment with General Horst. The general seemed anxious to be away from them all and glad to be leaving.   
As soon as the footsteps of the departing men faded from hearing, the two cons launched into the confidence man.

“Okay, Actor, what’s goin’ on?” asked Chief warily.

Goniff turned a chair around and straddled it, eyes watching the Italian just as warily. “The Warden’s just leavin’ us behind?” he asked in disbelief. “It ain’t like the Warden to just leave us behind.”

Actor took a soothing puff on his pipe before answering. “We are going to find Casino and Teresa.”

“And what then?” asked Chief, he still did not accept that Garrison had left them on their own.

“That will depend on what we do find,” replied Actor.

“What d’you mean?” asked Goniff, just as unaccepting as Chief.

“He means if they’re dead, we’re in trouble,” said the Indian. “Right, Actor?”

“It will mean a change in plans,” was all that the confidence man would admit to. It was an understatement he knew the other two would see through.

“Change in plans,” grumbled the pickpocket. “Change in plans ‘e sez. Means we can’t go back to England.”

“Ever?” asked Chief.

Actor looked between the two. “We have not reached that bridge yet. First we must find Casino and Teresa and then we will decide how to cross the bridge.”

“An’ how we gonna find ‘em, Mate?” asked Goniff.

“You got a plan?” Chief looked at Actor.

The con man nodded. “The Warden gave the location and probable route they would take to Philippe. He is getting word out to the resistance in those areas. If they have been spotted, or been captured, he will be notified.”

“So, in the meantime, we sit,” said Chief, clearly not liking the inactivity.

“Until morning at least,” confirmed the confidence man.

GGG

The sun was just rising when there was a discrete knock at the door to the apartment. Chief was instantly alert with blade out and ready. Goniff had his gun pointed at the door. Actor cautiously opened the door, pistol ready.

“Monsieur Acteur,” said Philippe, “a word, please.”

Actor tucked the gun in his belt and followed the man from the room, leaving the other two cons to wonder what was going on. Philippe led Actor downstairs to a back storage room where another man in fisherman’s garb awaited them. The Italian waited with a show of patience and polite interest to see how this was going to play out.

Philippe turned back to him. “This is Jean. He is our radio man. There was a message early this morning from another of our group. There is a couple coming to Le Havre who might fit the description of your friends. One is a young woman and the other a dark-haired man who is perhaps a little older than her. Both have injuries, but only minor ones. They will be arriving by train tomorrow afternoon.”

“And you think they may be our friends?” questioned Actor. “Is there something that indicates this?”

The other man spoke up. “The woman said they were supposed to meet another group that was leaving tonight.”

Philippe smiled. “Monsieur, yours is the only group we have.”

Actor grinned. “Thank you, Monsieur,” he said to the radio man.

Chief and Goniff looked up hopefully when Actor re-entered the apartment.

“So what gives?” asked Chief.

The familiar crooked grin lit Actor’s face. “There is a couple arriving by train tomorrow. They sound like Teresa and Casino. We won’t know for sure until we see them.”

“They okay?” asked Goniff.

“Some minor injuries I am told,” replied the Italian.

“How we gonna contact ‘em?” asked Chief. “You got a plan?”

“’E’s always got a plan,” said Goniff confidently.

“I have a plan,” said Actor. He looked at the other two. “Tonight, we will be moving to another safe house. It is not advisable to stay in one location too long. Unfortunately, the new accommodations will not be as nice as these.”

Chief shrugged. It didn’t matter to him what the ‘accommodations’ were, as long as he could see outside.

“An’ I was just gettin’ used to that sofa,” moaned Goniff.

“Well, get un-used to it,” said Actor, hiding a grin. 

GGGGG

By mid-afternoon, the woods had become hot and muggy. Casino eyed the girl in front of him. She had doggedly kept up the pace set by the young man who was leading them to the next safe house on their journey. Even Terry was starting to look a little wilted. The safecracker slapped at a mosquito on the back of his neck, earning him a sharp look from the girl. She was sure beginning to act like her brother.

Perspiration ran in little paths down Casino’s face. His hand came up, but he resisted the urge to scratch at the abrasion under the head dressing he wore. The salty sweat made it burn intolerably. He would be glad when they reached the safe house and he could rip the darn dressing off. In an attempt to ignore the discomfort, part of his mind went back to last night with Bèrthe. The woman had been solid and stocky, just like a farm woman used to working the fields. No novice, she had known just how to please him on the folded blanket they had used for a bed in one of the small side rooms of the cave. He had made sure the union was mutually pleasurable. Looking at the back of the woman walking in front of him, he could not help but compare the two women. Terry was slim, but strong. The vision he had of her when she had returned to the Mansion with the bullet wound was indelibly etched in his mind. She needed a little more meat on her bones, but otherwise she was fine. He bet she could be energetic in bed, but she would probably prefer the Italian. Casino gave a mental snort. Actor probably never even raised a sweat when he was with a woman. 

Terry concentrated on keeping all her senses open for anything that might be a threat. She didn’t have Chief’s acute hearing or sixth sense for danger. The pace was a little faster than even Craig kept on a mission. They stuck to wooded areas, skirting fallow fields and villages. She knew their destination, a village on a train line, was to the south and west of the coastal city, but it sure felt as though they were walking the entire way to Le Havre.

Three hours later, they reached the outskirts of the small town and were turned over to an elderly woman in a laundry. The two were shown to a small attic space. It was dusty and cobwebby, with steeply sloping eaves that made the center of the room the only place either of them could stand fully upright.

“Terrific,” grumbled Casino.

“Knock it off,” said Terry in a low voice, trying to sound like her brother. 

They righted two fallen chairs at a table. They dusted off a little spot on the table but avoided disturbing the webs and the rest of the dust. If the Germans raided the place after they had gone, they would be able to tell people had been hiding up there if it was too clean. Not long after, the old woman returned with cheese and bread, a bottle of wine and dressing supplies. Terry thanked her graciously.

Speaking French, the woman said, “I am to tell you there are people in Le Havre looking for you. They are friends.”

Terry thanked her again with a smile. After the woman had gone, Casino rounded on Terry.

“What was that all about?” he asked.

“Craig’s looking for us I think,” replied Terry.

“Great!” Casino grinned.

“Don’t get too overjoyed,” warned the girl. “The last sub leaves tonight. They’ll be on it.”

“So can’t they send it back a third night?”

Terry shook her head. “My understanding is that more than two tries is too dangerous. We’ll go out by boat.”

“Figures,” grumbled the safecracker.

“Here,” said Terry with a smile. “Let me change that bandage on your face.”

GGGGG

That afternoon found Lt. Garrison in Allied Command in London. The trip across had been uneventful. Gen. Horst had been unusually quiet. At one point he had asked Garrison about the team members left behind. Craig had in a quiet but firm manner explained that wasn’t up for discussion. The German’s somewhat arrogant demeanor had diminished more and more the closer they came to Allied soil, so that by the time they arrived, he was virtually silent. The man was out of his hands now; placed in an interrogation room. 

Garrison looked up as the door opened to admit Col. Hammond and Col. Yates. Hammond could be reasoned with, but Garrison knew he was in trouble with Yates, so as the Lieutenant came to attention he tried to get a sense of the atmosphere. Col. Hammond took a seat behind his desk and motioned Garrison to have a seat. Col. Yates had taken a seat to the side of the desk, but still facing the more junior officer.

Dark hair with a premature smattering of gray covered a rugged face from which pale blue eyes peered at the lieutenant. Hammond knew Garrison could be a bit of a loose cannon, with just enough of a respectful attitude to avoid outright insubordination. That was probably what made him so good at leading his band of misfits . . . and for getting himself in trouble. 

“Bringing the general out was a good move, Garrison,” said Hammond. “He is giving us important information directly from Berlin. We are still trying to pry from him the reason he felt he had to defect to our side.”

Fennel, thought Garrison. Actor’s assessment of the German would have amused Hammond, but the situation was too sobering. Instead he offered, “Gen. Horst indicated he thought his position had been compromised.”

“I’m sure our interrogators will get the answer at some point soon,” said Hammond. He looked narrowly at the blond man in front of him. “I understand you returned without your men?”

“Yes, Sir,” replied Craig, now offering nothing.

“And why is that, Lieutenant?” quizzed the colonel.

“Two of our team were separated from us and the others are attempting to locate and rescue them if necessary.”

“And they will be returning?”

Before Garrison could answer, Yates spoke derisively. “More likely they’ll head for the nearest neutral country and that will be the last we see of that trash.”

Hammond watched a muscle jump in the Lieutenant’s jaw. It was the only sign of his displeasure at that remark. The older colonel did not have much use for Col. Yates either but was stuck with him for now. Wryly, Hammond said, “Colonel, I doubt the Lieutenant’s sister would be happy to hear herself referred to as trash.”

The sour expression on the younger colonel’s face said he included Terry Garrison in that description. “I am not sure I understand what Miss Garrison is doing with the group in the first place.”

“She is working for us,” replied Hammond.

“With all due respect, the U. S. Army does not allow women in combat situations,” Yates reminded him.

“This team is Special Forces, Colonel, not combat.” Hammond noted that muscle in Garrison’s jaw was tightly bulging. He decided it would be prudent to get the young man out of there as quickly as possible before he got himself into any more trouble.  
“Unfortunately, Lieutenant Garrison, there will have to be an investigation into this situation.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand, Sir,” said Craig. “The team has been sent in on missions twice without me. What is the problem this time?”

“The problem, Lieutenant,” broke in Yates, “is that you deliberately left those convicts behind on their own recognizance and they will probably not come back!”

Garrison was not about to admit that was precisely what was going to happen. He moved his eyes from Yates back to Hammond. The older officer was trying to restrain his annoyance with his counterpart. 

“Garrison,” said Hammond. “I have no desire to put you in the stockade. Until we find out where and what the rest of your team is doing, you will be confined to quarters, under guard.”

“Confined to quarters?” exclaimed Yates in disbelief. “Why make it comfortable for him?”

Hammond wondered if the colonel had any reasoning ability. “Because, Colonel, if his men are going to try to contact him, they will do it at the Mansion.” Before Yates could respond, he looked at Garrison. “Dismissed, Lieutenant. You are to return to quarters and remain there. There is already a guard posted.”

Craig rose from his seat and saluted. He paused. “One question if I may, Sir?”

Hammond nodded, wishing this would just get over with. 

“When my men return, what will happen to them?”

“If they return, it will be discussed with General Fremont. Now, dismissed, Lieutenant.”

Garrison saluted again, turned on his heels and left the room.

GGG

Garrison had been delivered by staff car to the steps of the Mansion. There had been two armed guards at the gate and one at the base of the steps. After returning a salute, he bounded up to the door and let himself in. Standing a moment in the foyer, he took in the coldness and heavy silence. Funny how he had always been trying to get a bit of peace and quiet. Now he would be happy to hear Casino and Goniff arguing over cards, the clatter of cookware as his sister either cleaned up after or started making another meal, and to smell the pipe tobacco that was uniquely Actor’s. He could not prevent himself from glancing at the window seat that was empty of the familiar form of his scout. With a sigh, boots clicking hollowly on the wooden floor, Craig went into his office and hung his jacket on the coat tree by the door. He sat behind his desk and looked at the telephone he knew was bugged. Now for the next step, letting his other sister know there was trouble.

Christine picked up on the second ring. 

“Hey, Little Sister,” said Garrison with a cheerful voice.

“Hi, Brother,” replied Chris. “I take it you’re back?”

“Yeah,” said Craig. “Before I forget, did you ever get that squeaky hinge fixed on the front door?”

“No,” replied the girl. “It’s driving me nuts.”

“Sorry. You really need to oil it.” He paused. “I guess you had better know your sister is missing.”

“Missing where?” asked Crystal with concern.

“France,” replied Craig. “I’m sure Actor will find her in no time.”

“She’s not with Actor?” questioned the girl, knowing those two were usually paired up on missions.

“No, she’s with Casino.”

“Do you need me to come cook for you?” she asked casually.

“No, but Kit could probably use your help. Terry was supposed to tend bar.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Chris. “With the bombings, it isn’t really safe here.”

“I don’t think it’s safe anywhere in England,” Craig replied.

“True. Well, I’ll just go take Terry’s place at the bar until she gets back. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” reassured Garrison.

After they had hung up, Chris sat down heavily on a dining room chair. They had set up the code a long time ago, but this was the first time it had been used. She thought carefully back over what had been said. Addressing her immediately as ‘Little Sister’ instead of by her name meant the phone line wasn’t safe. The question about her front door meant the Mansion was not safe. Actor and Casino in France with Craig here told her the guys were still on the Continent. Craig was in trouble. Not being safe anywhere in England was code that the guys probably weren’t coming back. Terry would not stay away. Chris never tended bar at the Fox. For Craig to tell her to meant she was supposed to be available to intercept Terry if possible. Good Lord! What had gone so terribly wrong? 

GGGGG

It was early afternoon when Terry and Casino made their way to the train station. Terry was wearing a skirt and blouse that had seen better days. Her legs were encased in wool stockings, her feet in worn shoes, a heavy scarf covering most of her auburn hair. Her husband was in patched pants and a wool shirt. His head was swathed in the bandage, bearded face peering out with a sullen look that went with the pain he was supposed to be feeling from a broken jaw. 

Terry led the way into one of the third-class compartments that made up the whole of the train. A young Wehrmacht soldier eyed them like garbage, not offering any assistance to Terry to climb into the car. Casino kept his eyes downcast and his shoulders rounded. With a feigned limp, he followed as Terry guided him to an empty wooden seat and indicated for him to take the space next to the window. She sat down beside him. As the car filled, Casino leaned wearily against the window. Terry continued to play the role of a worried wife, chewing on her lower lip as she cast concerned glances at her injured husband. She leaned gently towards Casino so their arms touched from shoulder to elbow while her darting eyes assessed the other occupants of the compartment as they entered.

A pair of Wehrmacht soldiers walked slowly down the aisle scrutinizing all the passengers with blatant suspicion. The girl did not know if they were the ones being searched for, or some other poor souls. Apparently, the soldiers were satisfied that whomever they were seeking was not there and they went on to the next car. Terry could have slumped with relief when the train began to move. 

An elderly woman had taken the seat beside Terry and immediately fallen asleep with her chin on her chest and snores emanating from a slack mouth. The other occupants of the now crowded compartment were peasant women of various ages, some with small children and a couple with babies. Many were carrying vegetables to sell in the city. Others looked like refugees, forced from their homes by the bombings and trying to get to relatives who might take them in. All of them looked tired and frightened.  
The trip was slow with frequent stops in small towns and along sidings as they waited for troop trains and freight trains that had priority. It was late afternoon when they arrived at the depot in Le Havre. 

The next step was to get out of the train station without being captured or shot.


	10. Chapter 10

Terry and Casino stepped off the train with the downcast heads of disheartened and weary peasants. They paused, seemingly hesitant, while they oriented themselves and noted the groups of German soldiers, mostly armed, that filled the depot. Joining the crowd, they walked with the prevailing normal shuffling gait toward the station gates. The soldiers on duty strolled around or stood in pair, inspecting the crowd, and the French civilians hurried past them as quickly as they dared, hoping not to attract attention.  
They had made it to Le Havre. Now if they could connect with their resistance contact, they might just make it back to England.

They joined the queue to present their forged papers to the officials manning the gate at the end of the platform. Casino’s battered and roughly bandaged face attracted attention, but that helped instead of hindered them. Terry explained briefly, in a combination of French and sign language, he had been injured and they had come to seek medical help. They were nodded through by a surprisingly sympathetic Wehrmacht corporal. Once out on the street, they made their way through the station approach, across the Cours de la Republique and started down the Rue de la Perouse which would take them toward the hospital. They would walk to the hospital to allay any tail they may have picked up, then turn and go to the docks. Their confidence in their success grew as they moved farther away from the station with its concentration of German checks and officials.

“Halt! Hände hoch!”

From around a corner two Waffen-SS men suddenly appeared; their guns clearly pointed at the two. Terry and Casino froze while people scattered all around them. They shot a glance at each other and slowly raised their hands, adrenalin pumping through their veins as they struggled to stay in character. Forcing herself to remember her role of the peasant wife, Terry sidestepped towards Casino even as he moved to protect her with his body.

“Stillstehen!” shouted one of the Waffen-SS men, his rifle cocked and pointed at them.

“Don’t say anything,” hissed Terry under her breath. 

The blond Aryan partner to the one who had given the order motioned with his rifle for the two to precede them. Casino nudged Terry forward and followed her, trying to keep himself between her and the weapons now trained on their backs.

The sidewalk in front of them was all but deserted as people moved swiftly away. Turning the corner and seeing the sinister black Citroen parked at the curb, they watched as the passenger door opened and a leather-coated SS officer got slowly out and, with the aid of a silver-topped cane, hobbled forward to intercept them.

“What are you stopping us for?” demanded Terry in French indignation, with more than a hint of fear in her voice. “We have papers. We have done nothing wrong.”

“You are American spies,” said the officer in German accented English. The corners of his mouth turned up in an evil smile. “And now you are my prisoners.”

“I don’t understand you,” said Terry again in French, but allowing terror to show through.

The SS officer motioned to the dark-haired soldier who stepped forward and took the dangling handcuffs that were held out to him. The fair SS man kept them covered while the other stepped behind them and roughly handcuffed their hands. Confident that his prey was now secured, the officer stepped up to the girl and lightly stroked her cheek with the tip of his cane. Terry gave him a malevolent glare and spat on his shiny boot. The officer’s face took on a livid, bulging-eyed expression and his hand with the cane rose up to strike. For the briefest instant, the girl was afraid he really would hit her. Instead, his hand slowly lowered, and the evil smile returned.

“I shall enjoy interrogating you,” he said in English.

The silver mount on the top of the walking cane brushed lightly across her breast. Terry jerked away and bumped into the blond SS man, almost unbalancing him. He recovered quickly and pulled her toward the car. Casino was shoved along behind her. The two prisoners were stuffed into the backseat with the darker one to guard them. The blond held the front door for the officer and ran around to get behind the wheel. With a squeal of tires, the car sped out of the town.

The younger dark SS man immediately freed Terry, who in turn freed Casino with the handcuff key pressed into her hand. As the safecracker was rubbing his wrists, he shot an angry look at the arrogant officer in the front seat.

“Yuh just had to do that didn’t you?” Casino demanded.

“Yes! I had to make it look real,” shot back Actor just as angrily. He had seen the brief flash of terror in the green eyes. Merda! “And you just had to do what you did,” he blasted back at Terry.

“Believe me, I won’t do it again,” replied the girl, glad her voice was steady.

“Are you two all right?” Actor asked with concern this time.

“For the most part,” said Terry.

“Some people are a little more all right than others,” grumbled Casino, still getting over his anger at the con man.

“Some people tuck and roll better than others,” said Terry, aware of his state of mind and trying to focus it on herself.

“Funny, Lady,” he said sarcastically.

“Where are we going?” asked Terry.

“Safe house,” replied Actor, calming down. “A fisherman’s hut by the water.”

Terry felt relief. “Sub coming for us?”

“No.”

The girl looked at the back of the Italian’s head with a frown. That single word was not at all reassuring. However, she did have a backup plan. She watched him examining the fancy lion’s head silver mount on the cane with apparent approval.

“I suppose you’re going to take that home with you,” she cracked at him, trying to cover for the fear she knew he had seen.

Chief answered first. “The guy I took it off of ain’t gonna need it anymore.”

“Oh, Chief,” Terry lamented. “Did you have to put a hole in that beautiful leather coat? It almost fits him.”

Casino and Goniff burst out laughing.

“Funny, Teresa,” parroted the con man. He sobered. “The agent we spoke to said you two had been injured.” He had noted the odd head wrap on the safecracker and the dark growth of hair on the man’s visible face.

“Just scrapes. Nothing too serious,” replied Terry.

A snort came from the man beside her. Casino reached up to pull the scarf off, but Terry’s hand stopped him.

“Don’t take it off yet. It’s probably stuck to you. I’ll soak it off when we get to the safe house.”

“Yeah? Well I probably look like somebody’s granny,” groused the man irritably.

Goniff glanced in the rearview mirror. “You make one ugly granny there, Mate. Never seen one with that much of a beard.”

“Oh, come on, Goniff,” said Terry, feeling much better now that she was in the combined safety of all the cons. “Haven’t you ever been to the sideshow at the circus?”

Casino’s head swung around to stare at her in umbrage at that remark. Terry laughed and put an arm around his neck, giving a squeeze and pressing her head briefly against his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she apologized.

“You’re sorry,” he grumbled. “I can see how sorry you are.” 

“At least he ain’t wearin’ a dress this time,” teased Chief quietly, knowing Casino couldn’t do anything but sputter at him.

Terry chortled. “I really wish I could have seen that one.”

“Settle down,” admonished the confidence man testily. “We are not safe yet.

Goniff drove down into the dock area. He pulled the black car around behind some warehouses in a deserted area that had been checked out by Chief earlier that day. A duffle bag was removed from the trunk of the car and the three SS men changed into regular clothing. It was done swiftly and silently and in less than five minutes they were on the move again, Chief driving this time.

They drove north of the industrial docks and ended up in a small cluster of wooden shacks and fishing docks. Chief let the others off in front of the far shack and continued on to hide the expensive car that was not in keeping with the area they were in.  
Actor checked out the wooden structure that was theirs for now. Finding it clear, he motioned the others inside. It was when an oil lamp on the table was lit that Terry noted the Englishman favoring his right arm.

“Goniff?” she asked in concern, moving to his side. “What happened?”

“I got shot, Love,” said the Cockney cockily.

Terry looked sharply at Actor.

“It was a clean through and through,” assured the con man. “It is stitched. He has had worse injuries.”

“Real sympathetic there, aren’t yuh, Beautiful?” asked Casino

Actor ignored him, turning instead to Teresa. “And the two of you?”

“Bruises and abrasions,” replied the woman. “Casino got it worse than me.”

The safecracker was prying off the gauze that was wrapped around his head. Terry stepped up and caught his hand as he reached for the gauze pads covering his abrasions. She scrutinized the dressing, seeing it was still saturated with ointment, before carefully and slowly peeling it off. Actor inspected the mushy wounds over Teresa’s shoulder.

“That needs to be left to open air,” he said.

“Good,” said Casino adamantly. “That gauze was drivin’ me nuts.”

“Short walk,” muttered Actor for Teresa’s ear only.

The woman managed to stifle a smile but gave the con man a raised eyebrow look. The look turned to a frown. “Okay, where’s my brother?”

“He is not here. We need to talk,” said Actor solemnly. “In private.”

“I would say so,” replied Terry, unsmiling.

Actor escorted her to the storage room which was the only private place they had. He looked back at the other men and focused on Casino. “I had better not catch anyone listening at the door.”

Closing the door, he turned to find Teresa standing a few feet away, lighting a lamp. She turned and watched him. “What’s going on?”

Actor eyed the young woman and tried to gauge how this conversation was going to affect her. He found it was getting harder to read Teresa if she did not want to be read. 

“Where is my brother?” repeated Teresa. “Where’s Craig?”

“England,” replied Actor coming to stand in front of her. “He took the general to England.”

“And left you all here?” asked the girl dubiously. She had expected her brother to continue on to England, but not leave the men behind.

“We were not going to leave you and Casino behind.” Actor’s face was inscrutable.

“Your idea or Craig’s?” Terry asked, knowing by the slight tension in him that she would have to cautiously drag it out of him.

“It was discussed by the Lieutenant and I. This was the decision we reached.”

“He went back to England without the rest of us,” reiterated Terry. She looked up at the Italian. “You know what they’ll do to him?”

“Obviously something serious by his demeanor,” replied Actor. “I do not understand why.”

Terry smiled with a shake of her head. “Craig can get himself in a pile of trouble, and has, even without you guys’ help.”

“It was his choice,” said Actor with a tone of not liking the idea. “I could not reason with him.” That thought bothered him too.

Terry smiled grimly. “I know. He really didn’t have a choice. He had to take the general back.”

“We could have kept the general on ice here,” said Actor.

“And miss the sub?” said Terry shaking her head. “No.”

“He could also have sent the general back with one of us.” There was the faintest hint of reproach in the con man’s voice.

“No, he couldn’t.” Terry smiled up at the big man. “It may be a tad easier to get him out of the stockade than to get you out of Alcatraz again. And it would have been you, Actor. You’re the only logical one to have done it. Craig will not do that to you, or any of the others.”

Actor sighed and frowned. It was as the Warden had told him.

“So, what is the plan?” Teresa’s tone was softer.

“I was told we are not to return to England,” admitted Actor.

Terry nodded. She knew her brother and the U.S. Army enough to understand. She stepped forward and placed her hands lightly on Actor’s chest, feeling the tension in him. What she had to say next was going to make it worse.

“I have to go back,” said Teresa, looking at her hands. “I have a chance of getting Craig out of this mess.” Now she looked up at Actor’s face. “You have to decide what you want to do. Come back to England or go to some neutral country for the duration. But it has to be unanimous. If you split up, the ones who go back to England will without a doubt go back to stir. If all of you come back, there might be a chance. Might be. And that chance will be pretty slim.”

Actor looked down at her with troubled eyes. “Come with us.”

Teresa shook her head. “I can’t. I can’t leave Craig hanging out to dry if there is a chance I can salvage the situation. If Craig can’t talk himself out of this mess, I do know who I can call for help.” She rubbed his chest lightly for a second savoring the strength of the man she would have liked to depend on. The smile left her face. “Actor, I’m not going to ask you to come back with me. I want you to do what you think is going to be right for you.” She dropped her hands away from him. “Go talk to the others. I will stay in here. I don’t want in any way to influence the decision. There is a boat picking me up at one in the morning. I will be on it . . . with or without all of you.”

“Teresa . . .” Actor’s thoughts were in a turmoil.

“Actor . . . Vittorio,” said Terry softly. “If you go to Switzerland, it will be all right with Craig. And it will be all right with me. I understand. And I know you can get them there safely. At least I know you will be safe for the rest of the war.” She shrugged her eyebrows. “Well, fairly safe, considering the four of you.”

Actor shook his head. “Teresa . . .”

“Go,” she urged him. “Talk to the others. I’ll wait here for your decision.”

Terry turned away, so he couldn’t see her face crumble. It was a moment before she heard Actor turn and go out, closing the door softly behind him. Sitting alone on a crate, Terry realized just how much she would miss Actor; miss all of them. Each was special to her in his own way. Still, she could not ask them to give up the tenuous freedom they would have in Switzerland. It seemed forever that she sat there in her own thoughts. She could hear Casino’s voice raised in angry objection and hear him being shushed by the others. Minutes passed that seemed like hours.

The door opened and Actor filled the doorway. Terry rose to her feet and watched him silently, dreading the words she was sure she would hear.

“Switzerland is pretty much a sure thing,” said the con man slowly.

Terry felt her heart sink but kept her face neutral.

Actor watched her. “We are cons. That means we are gamblers. The challenge will be not in going to Switzerland, but in returning to England and trying to talk our way out of stir.”

The girl stared at him. “England?” she asked with a glimmer of hope.

Actor’s mouth turned up into his familiar crooked smile. “England.”

Terry could not help herself. She ran forward and leapt up. He caught her to him as her arms encircled his neck and she hugged him. She felt a quick squeeze of his arms around her.

“Teresa,” he admonished. “This is not dignified.”

She pressed her cheek against his. “I guess you’re right.”

Terry loosened the hold on his neck and slid down him to her feet, mouth pressing a quick hidden kiss to the base of his throat at the open collar. “Sorry, Actor,” she said.

The Italian did not have time to react to that gesture as she pushed around him and went into the front room. He continued to feel where her kiss had touched him, even after she was past him. Merda.

Terry looked at the other three men, one at a time. “All of you are all right with this?” she asked uncertainly.

There were nods and various words of assent. Terry turned first to Casino. “You sure?” she asked. At his nod, she gave him a hard kiss that he returned enthusiastically. She left him and looked at Goniff’s grinning face. She kissed him next and got one back. She turned to Chief, who had returned to stand by the window. The young man took a step back. Terry smiled impishly at him and stepped forward. He watched her warily and stood stiffly as she placed a careful kiss on his cheek. 

“So, how’re we leavin?” asked Goniff.

“Boat leaves at one,” replied Terry.

GGG

Bread, cheese and smoked fish had been brought to them by the wife of one of the resistance men. Actor had no appetite and so he had relieved Chief of his position at the window so the younger man could eat. The light had been turned down very low and was at the far end of the table to keep the window in shadow. 

The Italian peeked outside from behind the curtain. He could see the normal activity in equally dim light on the docks. Men loaded their gear into small dinghies in the same nightly routine they had followed for generations. War did not stop the need for food, even when floating mines made the oft times hazardous work even more dangerous.

Movement close to him made Actor look down at the girl who approached with a wedge of Camembert and an open switchblade. She sliced off a small piece.

“You’re not eating,” she said quietly.

Actor merely shook his head.

Teresa held the bit of cheddar up to him. “Eat. You worry me.”

I worry her, thought Actor ironically. He would have refused her, but the soft smile of affection made him indulge her. He opened his mouth and took the bite on his tongue. He watched her slice another bit off and eat it. The next slice was for him, but she handed it to him this time. They finished up the wedge and Terry cleaned the blade on the hem of her blouse before folding it closed and slipping it into a pocket.

“Are we safe here tonight until we leave?” said Terry in a voice barely above a whisper.

“I believe so,” replied Actor just as quietly. He took another look out the window then looked down at her with a frown. “There is something else that concerns me, and I would like to discuss it.”

“What?” asked Teresa, not sure where his mind was going now.

“Back where we picked up you and Casino,” he started in a low voice, “There was a moment when you looked at me with pure terror. I know you were playing the con, but that one moment was not a con. You were afraid of me!”

Terry nodded. “Only for a moment.”

Actor was even more upset by that admission. “But why, cara? Surely by now you know I would never hurt you.”

Terry looked up at him was a small smile. “I know that, caro mio.” She shook her head. “Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror when you take on that particular expression?”

Actor shook his head. “I do not understand. You know it is a con. . . “

Terry smiled wider now and patted his arm with affection. “Yes, it is a con. And a very effective one. You would scare the swagger out of ole Adolf with that look. When we get back to England watch yourself do it.”

Actor could not perceive how what was a known con could have such an effect on the girl. “Teresa, I don’t ever want you to be afraid of me.”

“I’m not, caro,” she said, “Except for that look. So just don’t aim it at me if you can possibly help it.”

With that, she turned and walked back to the table and the others.

Their departure time was rapidly approaching when a man carrying a large bundle walked toward the shack. Actor snapped his fingers and the room immediately became silent, guns ready. After a brief tap on the door, it opened, and Philippe slipped inside. He seemed unperturbed by the weapons trained on him.

Holding the bundle out to Actor, Philippe said in French, “For the young lady. She needs to look like a young boy going out with the boat.”

“Merci,” said Actor, accepting the bundle. 

“In fifteen minutes, go down to the dock directly in front of this building. There will be a dinghy with two of my men. They will take you out to a bigger boat which will take you across the Channel.”

Actor nodded to the man. “Thank you for your assistance and your hospitality.”

Philippe gave a dismissing wave of his hand and let himself out.

The con man walked over and handed the bundle to Teresa. “Here. Hurry and change.”

Terry took the clothing and went into the supply room. A few minutes later, she reappeared wearing a heavy blue and white striped sweater under coveralls, knee high rubber boots on her feet and her hair tucked up into a dark fisherman’s cap. 

“The knockers give it away,” drawled Casino.

Terry gave him a dirty look, then glanced at Actor, turning to face him. “Do I need to tie them down?”

“No,” said Actor wearily, wondering if the children would ever grow up. “If we are caught by the Germans it will not make any difference. They will still know you are a woman.”

“That is so reassuring, Actor,” she shot at him.

Chief took her clothes and stuffed them into a duffle with the rest of their gear. The light was blown out and the five made their way down to the dock.

They were met by two men, one who manned the front of the dinghy and the other who manned the back with two oars. Terry found herself on the small boat, wedged between Actor and Casino. At least it was warm tucked between the two men. The bay was fairly calm, but the air was damp and cold. The oars made little noise as they moved farther from land.

After a bit, Terry turned her head and looked at the black water that occasionally sparkled with light from a moon that was playing hide and seek with the heavy cloud cover. A large metallic ball with spikes glided past them, almost close enough to touch. Terry’s eyes widened in horror. She rapped Actor with her knuckles and turned her mouth to his ear.

“Is that what I think it is?” she asked with a slightly tremulous voice.

Actor’s mind was filled with as much unease as the woman’s, but his voice betrayed nothing. “Yes, cara, it is a mine. We seem to be in the midst of a mine field,” he whispered back into her ear. “Our escort appears to know his way through. We should be all right.”

Terry didn’t believe that one for a minute. She slipped her hand through his arm and gripped his forearm tightly.

Casino leaned into her and whispered in the other ear. “What?”

“I’m cold,” Terry lied.

Casino’s arm slipped around her other one and held her icy hand.

“Bloody ‘ell!” squeaked the Cockney, who had just seen what Terry had seen on his side of the boat. 

“Quiet!” hissed Actor sternly.

“That a mine?” whispered Chief, trying to cover the fear in his voice.

“Well it ain’t no soccer ball,” shot back Casino.

“Will you be quiet,” demanded Actor in a whisper. “Voices carry over water.”

The guide at the front of the boat whispered back in French, “All is well.”

“Sure it is,” Terry whispered in Actor’s ear, also in French.

The Italian covered her hand with his and rubbed it reassuringly. Her fingernails still dug into his forearm through the heavy sweater he was wearing. 

Their guide was as good as his word. All went well and they reached the larger fishing boat that bobbed on anchor beyond the mine field. Terry looked up the hull of the boat that dwarfed their dinghy. In French she asked the guide, “How do you get that big thing through all that back there?”

“We don’t,” replied the man jovially. “We take the fish to the cannery. We are here tonight to pick you up. May the rest of your trip be just as safe.”

“Merci,” said Terry.

Terry was helped partway up a rope ladder dangling down the hull of the fishing boat by Actor and Casino on either side of her. Hands reached down and pulled her the rest of the way up. Goniff was assisted up next, though he protested he didn’t need no ‘elp. The other three men followed. The five were shown to a room below deck for the journey across the Channel.


	11. Chapter 11

The fishing boat docked at the harbor in Folkestone as the sun was rising above the Continent. The night had been spent zigzagging across the open expanse of water between Le Havre and England in an effort to evade Nazi gunboats. Goniff had been nauseated the entire time from a combination of his usual seasickness and eating smoked fish prior to their boat ride. Now that he was on dry land, he was ravenous.

The four men and one woman changed clothes in a warehouse, returning the borrowed clothes to the ship’s captain before he left to go back to France. The dock was a noisy bustle of men, machines, sea birds and boat whistles. The five wove their way through the organized chaos until they were a distance away from the water and found a pay phone. 

“I need to talk to Craig,” said Terry.

French money did not work in British pay phones, so she was at a quandary. She turned to look questioningly at the men. Goniff grinned brightly and touched the side of his nose with a forefinger. Oh, good grief, thought Terry. She was about to condone criminal activity. Unbidden, a small grin graced her face. Goniff casually wandered away from the group to apparently browse at the window of a news agents shop.

Terry had a sudden dreadful thought. She turned to the men and hissed a whisper to them. “Hey, he’s got a bullet wound to his right arm. Is he going to be able to do this without getting caught?”

“Never stopped him before,” said Casino unconcerned.

“Just watch,” added Actor.

The four of them moved away from the short row of telephone boxes to stand and appear to be talking amongst themselves. Nothing happened. Pretty soon, Goniff ambled back over to them.

“Come on, Terry Love,” he said with a gamin smile.

“What?” asked the girl warily.

“I want you to go a couple doors down and stand lookin’ around,” he started to explain. “When you see a toff comin’ stop ‘im and ask ‘im for the time. Tell ‘im yer mate was supposed to pick you up and ‘asn’t popped up yet.”

“And?” asked Terry with trepidation. 

Goniff’s smile brightened. “I’ll take care o’ the rest.” He eyed the young women and his smile took on a devious quirk. “An’ you might want ter take the coat off an’ open the top two buttons o’ yer blouse. Give him sumefin’ to fink about.”

“Goniff!” objected Terry in a loud whisper.

Casino laughed and even Chief had a grin. She didn’t dare look at the con man. Okay, she was up for it. Her hands went up and she opened the top two buttons and parted the blouse a bit. The short coat was shrugged off and handed absently to the con man behind her.

“Ravishing, Darling,” said the Italian a bit over dramatically as he accepted the garment.

“Oh, stuff it, Actor,” she said with a grin.

Goniff nodded his approval. “Oh, an’ try to put a bit oy East End in it.”

Terry glared at him. “Oh, an’ ain’t you jest a ruddy pain in t’ arse then.”

That got a laugh from all of them, including the con man behind her.

She sauntered away and down the row of shops toward the train station. She stopped across the street from the entrance to the station and gazed around. A toff. Where was she going to find a toff? And what would a toff be doing here? She was beginning to wonder what a toff would look like, when she spotted him. Obviously a business man, he had on a dark suit, a bowler hat, and was carrying a folded newspaper under one arm with an umbrella hanging from his wrist. Toff. And he was coming her way.  
Terry chewed on her lower lip and looked worried. As the man approached, she held a hand out hesitatingly.

“’Scuse me, Sir,” she said as though afraid to bother the man. “Could you be tellin’ me the time please? Me mate was supposed to be pickin’ me up now, wasn’t he? I been waitin’ forever.”

The man raised his wrist to uncover his watch just as Goniff brushed close behind him, knocking the paper loose to fall on the ground. Goniff was off at a gimpy trot across the street as though he wasn’t aware of what he had done. The man gave him a dirty look and bent to retrieve his paper.

“Always in a ‘urry they is,” said Terry with a shake of her head. “Not like they ‘ave any ruddy place tuh go now.” She smiled sympathetically at the man.

He tucked the paper firmly under his arm and glanced at his watch. Normally, he wouldn’t take the time with one of these low-class women, but this one was pretty and didn’t look like a dollymop. “It is 7:25, Miss.”

“Thank you, sir,” Terry bobbed her head.

In a hurry to catch the 7:35 milk train, the businessman started across the street at a brisk walk. 

Terry stayed where she was until he disappeared into the station. She had no idea where Goniff was. Slowly, she headed back up the street. She came abreast of WH Smith’s and glanced in to see Goniff paying for a pack of cigarettes. She wandered in and stopped to look at a magazine. When the blond man left the counter, she left with him.

Neither was surprised to find Actor waiting for them by the short row of red telephone boxes. He held open the door of one of them; Goniff handed over some coins as Terry went in.  
Terry listened to the phone ring twice before it was answered.

“Lt. Garrison.”

The pips on the line told him that the call was coming from a public phone box, and that could only mean one thing. A wave of relief washed over him as he waited until she’d pushed her coins into the box to connect the call, then he snarled into the receiver, “Get off this phone!”

Apprehensive, Terry switched to Lakota. “What’s going on?”

“Where are you?” he asked in the same language.

“South coast,” she answered. “Now what’s going on.”

“Call our sister at the Fox,” he said. “Get off the phone now!”

Terry slammed the receiver into its cradle and stared wide-eyed at the phone. 

Actor pulled open the heavy kiosk door. “What?” he demanded, not liking the look on the girl’s face.

“I don’t know.” She held her hand out and beckoned with her fingers. “More change.”

Goniff handed her what he had left and they watched her go back into the kiosk and dial the Fox.

“Blue Fox,” said Kit’s voice.

“Let me speak to Chris,” said Terry.

A moment later her sister came on the line.

“Are you all right? Where are you?” asked the younger girl worriedly.

“I’m fine. We’re in Folkestone. What’s going on?” demanded Terry.

“I don’t know. I can’t talk to Craig. He’s at the Mansion confined to quarters. The phone isn’t secure.”

At least her brother wasn’t in the stockade. “Okay. Take the van and come down and get us. We’re at the station.”

“I’m coming,” said Chris.

Terry hung up and Actor opened the kiosk door, watching her with concern. “Craig’s at the Mansion confined to quarters. The phone is bugged. He must have sent Chris to the Fox. She’s coming to get us.”

“We thought it would not be good,” said Actor philosophically.

“At least we know he’s at the Mansion,” said Terry, as they started walking back toward the others.

“It could be worse,” the confidence man tried to encourage the girl.

“Yeah,” replied Terry. “He could be in Leavenworth by now. Why are they being so ridiculous about it? We’re only a couple days late.”

Actor shook his head. “We will have to wait until we may speak with the Lieutenant to find out what the Army’s plan is.”

The wait in the station buffet for Christine to arrive with the van seemed interminable. When she did arrive, the greetings were kept to a minimum. Actor instructed Chris to continue to drive. He got into the other front seat. Terry took a seat on a crate in the opening to the back, while the other men climbed in the rear amongst some empty liquor crates.

Chris returned the way she had come, only she did not stop in Brandonshire, but continued on toward the Mansion. She slowed as she approached the drive. 

“Pull over!” ordered Actor urgently.

Chris swung the van onto the shoulder and slid to a stop under some trees. There were yells of protest from the back as the men were tossed around.

“Quiet!’ said Actor sharply.

“What the . . .?” said Terry from box she was sitting on between the two front seats.

The three men poked their heads through the opening to the back and immediately saw what the girl was staring at. There were armed guards posted at the entrance to the manor drive. 

“More up by the house,” said Chief peering around Actor and through the trees.

“House arrest or are they looking for us?” asked Terry.

“Probably both,” speculated Actor.

“So now whadda we do?” asked Casino.

Terry looked at the tall man beside her. “It’s your call, Actor. I don’t know where to go from here. My flat is probably under surveillance. So is Chris’s in London.”

Actor was silent for a moment in contemplation. He had expected something like this. As Teresa had said, there was nowhere safe for them to go. At least at the Mansion they should be held together with Garrison. Two con men were better than one and Garrison could come up with some good schemes.

“We go in,” said Actor.

“And how are we supposed tuh do that?” asked Casino. “We pull up to the drive, they’ll arrest us on the spot.”

Actor held his temper. As a safecracker, the man was brilliant. As a tactician, he left a lot to be desired. “How do we get in and out of the Mansion to go to the Doves when we don’t wish the Warden to know?” he asked with exaggerated patience.

“In broad daylight?” scoffed Casino. “It ain’t like Geronimo can knife a guard if we get caught.”

“So, we play it a little more carefully,” said Terry.

“At least we know this place better’n Germany,” added Goniff. “It’ll be a cinch, Mate.”

Chris looked around them at the tall man who was in charge. “What do you want me to do, Actor?”

“Do you have a map?” he asked.

“In the glove box,” said Terry, not following yet.

Actor took the map out, opened it and handed it to the younger Garrison girl. “Hold it up in front of you. They may still be able to see you from the drive. We will pretend you are lost.”

Chris did as she was told but looked to the Italian for further direction. 

“Good, now put it in the windshield so it can be seen from outside.”

Chris grinned and did it. “Sneaky.”

“Only slightly devious,” countered the con man. “Now, I want you to drive past the entrance at a normal speed. Go to the end of the estate and turn up the side road. I will tell you where to stop.”

The three other cons resumed their places in the back of the van. Terry leaned back so she could not be seen from the windows, holding onto each side of the opening. Actor folded his long frame over, so he was below the level of the windows, which placed his head in Terry’s lap. She refrained from commenting with some difficulty. 

Chris shifted and drove the van down the road and past the entrance to the Mansion with barely a glance at the guards. When she had rounded a curve, Actor and Terry straightened and resumed their seats. The Italian kept watch out the side window for any guards on the property. Partway around the far side of the estate, he directed Christine to pull over.

“Now what do I do?” asked the younger girl.

“Now you go back to the Fox,” said Actor. “But do not go back past the guards.”

“You know how to take the long way back?” asked Terry.

“I think so,” said Chris. “Turn around, cross the main road and go a mile down to the next crossroads. Turn left. It should take me past the Doves. Keep going straight until I get to Periwinkle Lane and turn left. That should bring me out just south of Brandonshire.”

“That’s it,” said Terry. “It should be safe enough to use my flat if you can get past the guards. They’ll know I’m at the Mansion soon enough.”

Actor opened his door but paused and leaned over to place a kiss on the younger Garrison girl’s cheek. “Thank you, Christine. Your assistance has been greatly appreciated.”

Chris had not been expecting that gesture and it surprised her. “Um . . . you’re welcome.” She reached out and squeezed the con man’s forearm. “You be careful.” She turned to look into the back. “All of you.”

Actor climbed down and the other men went out the back of the van. Terry moved forward to follow the Italian out.

She grinned at her sister and whispered, “Ma would love him.”

“She already does, according to Cinder,” said Chris wryly.

Terry shot her a startled look. The sisters exchanged a silent grin. Shaking her head, Terry let the ladies’ man help her down and shut the door.

By the time Chris had turned the van around, the group had disappeared into the woods and she could not see any of them.

Following their usual pattern, they stretched out in a slightly longer line than normal, with Chief on point. When they reached the running track, they stealthily crossed it one at a time. Next, they bypassed the pond, taking a deer track Chief was familiar with. Together, they crouched behind some brush at the edge of the woods. This was the dangerous part – the open lawn going to the back of the house. They stayed there for a half hour, timing the circuit of the guard. They had a minimum of ten minutes before the guard showed up again.

“Let me go first,” said Terry in a low voice. “That way if anything goes wrong, you have a chance to get away. I’ll signal you from the window if it’s safe for you to come on.”

Actor wasn’t too keen on that idea, but he gave her the go ahead. She waited for the guard to disappear around the corner of the house and sprinted across the lawn. The men watched her scurry up the trellis. Using her switchblade, she flipped open the lock on the window, pushed it in and pulled aside the bars. Her feet had just disappeared inside when the guard came around the other corner.

GGG

Terry stood still in the cavernous common room, listening to the unusual silence. Carefully, she made her way to the tall, wooden, double doors. An ear was pressed against the aged wood, but she could discern no movement in the halls. Cautiously, she cracked the door open. The old brass hinges made nary a squeak. The cons kept them well oiled so their comings and goings could not be heard by Garrison. Walking on the balls of her feet, she made her way, hugging the walls, past her room to the top of the stairs. Again, she paused to listen. There was no noise from below. One step at a time, she descended until, she could bend over and peer into the lower common room.

Garrison was sitting in Chief’s chair by the light from the window. His feet were crossed on the ottoman, a book open in his hands. Actor’s ash tray was on the table beside him, the smoke from a lit cigarette dancing in a curl upward. Terry stared. She had never seen him so laid back in all the time she had been there. The question now was how to get his attention without alerting anyone who might be nearby inside the house. So, she threw her switchblade with deadly accuracy and killed the arm of his chair.  
Garrison’s eyes flashed to the blade and up to the stairs. A peasant woman was squatted down on the upper steps, peering over the railing with his sister’s face. Craig breathed a sigh of relief. Terry gestured with hands and face asking, ‘what else was I supposed to do?’ She donned an exaggerated look of question.

“It’s safe,” said Craig. “There’s nobody in the house. I checked for bugs yesterday. The phones are both tapped is all.”

Terry hurried down the stairs and Garrison got up to meet her halfway across the room in a hard hug.

“Are you okay?” he asked. He stepped back, gripping her upper arms and giving her a good once over.

“Pretty much,” said Terry. “Just let go of my arm. It’s scraped up.” Garrison let go but remained close. Worry took over. “How are the guys?”

“Fine,” she answered distractedly. “Are you all right?” she asked quizzically. “You never just sit and read a book.”

Craig shrugged. “Until this investigation is over, they even took my intelligence work away.” 

Terry stepped back. “Well, go back to your book. I need to do something upstairs.”  
As she turned and trotted away, Garrison looked after her in confusion. That’s all she had to say about his men? Fine? “Where . . .”

“In a minute,” said Terry. “I’ll be right back.”

She bounded up the stairs. Craig went back to his chair, picked up his cigarette and closed his book, before following her at a more leisurely pace up the stairs. 

At the open window, Terry pulled the bars aside and made a beckoning motion for the others to come. Craig found her in the common room and watched in curiosity. A minute later, the large form of his second squeezed past the bars to climb into the room.  
Actor looked up at his commanding officer and a smile creased his face. “Hello, Warden,” he said in a quiet, cheerful voice.

“Actor?” Craig stared. He had not expected the confidence man to return to England. Secretly, he was relieved to have his second back. “What . . .?”

“Just a minute, Craig,” said Terry, watching out the window. “We have to get the others in.”

“Others? You’re all here?”

“Of course, Warden. Where else would we be?” responded Actor as if there should have been no question.

“Switzerland, Sweden, Portugal” said Craig to himself as the other two had ceased to pay any attention to him.

Goniff arrived next. Terry hooked a hand under his injured arm on one side and Actor took the other arm. They all but lifted the light man inside.

“’Ey, Warden,” grinned the Cockney.

“Goniff,” greeted Garrison, still not quite believing any of this.

A minute later, Casino appeared in the window. He climbed inside and looked at Garrison with a grin. “Hi, Babe, how yuh doin’?”

Craig took in the road rash on the man’s face. “Had a little accident?”

“I s’pose you could call it that,” agreed the man.

Now they waited for the guard to make another round and Chief joined them. The Indian looked up at Garrison with a rare smile. 

“Warden,” he said in greeting.

“Chief,” replied Garrison. Finally, Craig was able to turn to his second. “I gave you a direct order, Actor,” said the officer in a stern voice.

The con man turned a bright insincere smile to his commander, “Yes. And I changed it.”

“So I see.”

They all went downstairs again. Garrison closed the blackout curtains in the kitchen so Terry could cook. Their diet had been less than sumptuous over the last few days. The guards had not ventured into the walled off backyard where Terry had her garden, but there was a first time for everything and it would not do for the woman to be spotted in the kitchen before they were ready to disclose her existence at the Mansion. While she was cooking, the men sat around the game table and Casino began filling Garrison in on his and Terry’s escapades. The safecracker left out a couple items he didn’t think the Lieutenant was on a need to know basis. When he was done, Actor outlined how the group had gotten back together and returned to England.

They waited for Terry to bring plates of food out to the table before Garrison launched into his meeting with the two colonels. They all dove into the meal with gusto, partly from hunger, and partly from the relief of being back together again.

“How did we get saddled with Yates?” asked Terry between bites of fried potato.

“Probably because we’re cons and we can’t object,” said Casino with disgust.

“He’s probably right,” admitted Garrison uncharacteristically.

“Uh, yuh want we should take him out – uh – eliminate him?” asked the safecracker, only half joking.

Garrison knew if given half a nod all four would probably do just that. “No.”

“Don’t worry, Casino,” said Terry. “Sometime, some way, we will get even with him.”

“That is provided we don’t all end up in stir,” said Actor.

“So now whadda we do?” asked the youngest member of the team.

Garrison sat back in his chair. Terry got up and returned with the bottle of brandy. She played mother and filled the teacups and glasses with the liquor. The bottle was set in the middle of the table within easy reach of all.

“Somehow we have to convince them this was all part of the plan and not that you men were going to ‘scarper’,” said Garrison.

“I trust they did not listen to you the first time around,” said Actor.

“I think Col. Hammond might have been willing to listen, but not Col. Yates,” replied Garrison.

Actor’s mind was working rapidly. “So, we need to circumvent Col. Yates.”

“And the next highest up would be Gen. Fremont,” said Terry. “And he doesn’t like us.”

“We have to convince Gen. Fremont this was not too much out of the ordinary,” continued Garrison.

“Warden,” grinned Goniff. “Nuthin’ much with our bunch is ordinary.”

This brought chuckles of agreement.

“I think in the morning, I will call a meeting with Col. Hammond and Gen. Fremont,” said Terry.

“Why you?” demanded Actor. 

“Because they will be less hesitant about throwing her in the stockade,” Garrison answered for her.

“That and if things go even more sour, I can call Washington and talk to a few people. Not Dad!” she shot back at her brother.

“Why wait ‘til morning?” asked Goniff.

Terry cocked a look at him. “Because I need real sleep in a real bed. I want to be as sharp as I can be tomorrow.”

“So tomorrow you and I go to London,” agreed Garrison.

“No!”

They all looked at the girl in surprise. 

“You stay here,” she told her brother. “If they know we’re all back, and you and I go to London, the guys will be on their way to the States and prisons before we even reach Allied Command.” She looked at her brother. “It might not make any difference, but your presence here with them might make them hesitate.”

Garrison chewed on it awhile. “All right, but I don’t like you tackling this alone.”

“She will not be alone,” a quiet accented voice spoke.

“Actor, no,” objected Terry. “They might be tempted to grab you and throw you in the stockade.”

“If we don’t pull this off, a few hours either way won’t make much difference,” asserted the confidence man. “Besides, Teresa, you are good. You are becoming very good. However, I am better and you need backup. If you can’t convince them to rescind the arrest of the Lieutenant, then I might be able to step in and further convince them.”

“I don’t think ‘the voice’ is going to work on Fremont,” said Terry sarcastically.

Craig was relieved the older man wanted to go with her. He was afraid for Actor, but the con man was right, Terry needed backup. “You take him, or you don’t go,” ordered Garrison.

“Merda!” said Terry in disgust. “No offense, Actor,” she added quickly, knowing the Italian would go off on her. “I want all of you to be safe.”

“You cannot assure that,” said the confidence man.

“He goes with you,” said Garrison with the bulldog stubbornness they all recognized.

Terry looked between her brother’s glare and Actor’s hooded inscrutable gaze. She knew she had lost this battle and nodded her agreement to the terms. She refilled her glass with brandy and took a solid drink from it.

The girl locked eyes with the confidence man in frustration. “Modest, aren’t you?’ she said in an uncomplimentary tone.

“Not a bit,” he replied evenly.

GGG

The next morning found Garrison, Actor and Terry in the Lieutenant’s office. Terry sat in her brother’s chair, took a deep breath to steady herself and placed the call to Allied Command.

“Teresa Garrison,” she said. “Put me through to Col. Hammond’s office.” Her voice had all the military bearing of her brother. She watched the second hand on her watch when she was put on hold. Two minutes later, the call went through. She shook her head. They were setting up listeners. The colonel’s lieutenant came on the line. “Terry Garrison,” said the girl coolly. “I wish to speak with Col. Hammond.” She was placed on hold again. The next voice she heard was Hammond’s. “Sir, this is Terry Garrison. I would like to meet with you and Gen. Fremont today regarding the current situation with my brother.”

Garrison and Actor watched her intently and silently.

“Yes, Sir, we are all here.” She grinned . “I wouldn’t be too hard on your guards, Sir. After all, breaking and entering is what we do. And we are used to far more guards than what you have posted on our facility.” There was a pause. “I can be there in two hours.” She listened again, her grin turning to a look of disgust. “If the Colonel thinks his presence in necessary. However, I’m afraid I must insist on speaking with Gen. Fremont also, Sir.” There was another pause. “Thank you, Sir. I will see you in two hours.”

She hung up and looked up at the two men. “It’s on. Yates will be there. Col. Hammond said Gen. Fremont has already expressed interest in talking to you and or me.”

“Have you ever met Gen. Fremont?” asked Craig.

“Once,” replied Terry. “I was with Maj. Richards. Fremont’s only a step or two above Yates in personality.”

“Be careful with him,” warned Garrison.

“He’ll keep a leash on me.” Terry nodded toward Actor.

This is not going to be at all pleasant, thought the con man.

GGG

Two hours later, Terry and Actor were escorted into the tribunal room. The three senior officers were seated behind a long table. The attempt at intimidation was not lost on the two. Actor seated Teresa behind one of the smaller tables facing the three and took a seat beside her. The confidence man’s presence had not been expected. General Fremont eyed him speculatively. Col. Hammond had met Actor before and watched with interest. Col. Yates looked like he had swallowed something extremely sour.

“Thank you for seeing us, Sirs,” said Terry, taking the initiative. “I assume this conversation is being transcribed for the record.”

“You are correct, Miss Garrison,” said Gen. Fremont. Obviously, the woman knew the procedure and probably that the tables were bugged. She was astute if nothing else.

“I want to know why my brother, Lt. Craig Garrison,” she said for the record, “is under house arrest.”

“He has not been officially charged,” said Col. Hammond. “But the circumstances of this mission are highly irregular.”

“Our group is highly irregular,” returned Terry.

Col. Yates spoke up. “Lt. Garrison left those criminals of his in France, aiding them to escape.”

Terry smiled insincerely. She glanced at Actor and back at the three officers. “Obviously that did not happen.”

“How did you coerce them back?” asked Yates sharply.

“Not returning to England was never our intention,” lied Actor smoothly. 

He sat deceptively relaxed, but his mind was flying back and forth between the officers and the girl beside him. Actor had been privy on occasion to watching the interplay between Lt. Garrison and Col. Hammond. The girl had the same bearing as her brother, but without the restriction of rank. The presence of a general did not seem to faze her; probably from her time in Washington. She sat beside him, seemingly at ease, hands clasped loosely in front of her on the dark wood table top.

Terry focused on Gen. Fremont. He was close to her father’s age, gray haired with dark rimmed glasses and a no-nonsense air about him. Just the kind of officer Terry was used to dealing with. “Sir, the mission was to bring back intel from an informer in Hitler’s inner circle. Besides the intel, we acquired the informer, General Horst, who wished to defect. Due to my actions, two of us were separated from the others. Placing the general in your hands was the priority, not finding the two missing members. Lt. Garrison did exactly what Lt. Garrison would have been expected to do. The other members of the group were left behind to locate and rescue the missing members. This they did and we all returned to our base . . . as should have been expected.” Fremont eyed her with an unsmiling face. “Sir, we are the best special forces team the Allies have. It is in everyone’s best interest to keep this team together. That is what Lt. Garrison’s reasoning was in leaving the rest of the team behind. I don’t know why Col. Yates was in such a hurry to write us off.”

“The potential for the four men under your brother’s command to escape to a neutral country was great to say the least,” said Fremont.

“I disagree,” replied Terry. “I live with these men. I know how they work and what motivates them. I don’t believe there was any cause for concern, Sir.” She turned her eyes to Yates, “Besides, if that was their plan, don’t you think they would have done it by now . . . Colonel?”

Actor did not like her challenging the often hostile colonel but could do nothing to stop her except sit and watch how this played out.

“That is not how we see it,” said Fremont. “Lt. Garrison should have brought the men back with him.”

“And left the missing two?” asked Terry. “What would you have done with the other three, send them back to prison?”

“That is a distinct possibility,” admitted the general.

Yates was grinning opening now. Hammond remained non-commital. Terry decided this was going nowhere. Time to bring out the big guns.

“You seem to be in a hurry to disband this group,” she said. “Do you have a telephone I may use?”

“And just who are planning on calling?” asked Col. Hammond.

“Gen. Eisenhower,” said Terry “It would be interesting to see his take on this situation.”

Actor almost choked on that gambit.

Col. Yates gave a derisive laugh. “You think you can just call Gen. Eisenhower and he’s going to talk to you.”

“No, Sir,” said Terry calmly. “I know I can.”

Actor watched the interplay in disbelief. Was the woman insane? He tried desperately to think of a way to salvage this and came up blank. It was simply too unbelievable. Apparently, Col. Yates thought so too.

“Miss Garrison, I think you have been living with these convicts too long. Do you really think we are going to . . .?”

“That’s enough, Colonel,” said Gen. Fremont. 

“But Sir?” protested Yates.

“I said that’s enough,” Fremont’s voice had a hard ring to it. He eyed the woman narrowly. She was eyeing him back just as icily. “All right, Miss Garrison,” he said. “The guards will be withdrawn. Your team can resume as usual. This will be stricken from Lt. Garrison’s record.”

Actor did not believe what he was hearing.

“Thank you, Sir,” said Terry evenly. “Just one more thing. We have two injured. The injury to one of the men is conspicuous enough to make him memorable. I suggest . . .,” she turned to Actor. “What? A week to recover?”

“Ten days would be better for that kind of wound,” replied the confidence man. “The same for the bullet wound.”

Gen. Hammond glared at Terry. “All right, Miss Garrison, ten days.”

“Thank you, Sir,” said Terry graciously. “If that is all . . .?”

“Dismissed.”

GGG

Once they were outside of London, Actor pulled the car over under a tree and killed the engine. He turned sideways in the seat to look questioningly at Teresa.

“Cara, that had to be the most outrageous con I have ever seen,” he shook his head, still in disbelief. “And they bought it!”

“What?” asked Terry.

“What would you have done if they had called your bluff?” demanded the confidence man. “Called Gen. Eisenhower?”

“Yes,” replied Terry quietly. She was still trying to recover from the fear and tension of the last hour.

Actor’s eyes narrowed. “And I suppose you know the general,” he scoffed.

“Depends on your definition of ‘know’,” Terry shot back defensively at his tone. “I have danced with him in Washington a couple times. Under the watchful eyes of Mamie.” Terry sucked in a cheek, thinking here goes one more bit of information he isn’t supposed to know. “Gen. Eisenhower was fully aware of the plan to put this group together. He backed Dad, Craig and a couple other generals in the War Department for you guys.”

The confidence man stared at the woman. “Who are you?” he asked softly in disbelief.

Terry looked down at her hands. “I am General William Garrison’s daughter. Craig Garrison’s sister. And right now I think I am trying not to have a nervous breakdown.”

Actor saw the minute tremble in the hands that were locked together in her lap. “Teresa,” his voice softened. “You were never in any danger.”

Terry’s glassy eyes shot to his. “I was in grave danger!” she objected. Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. “I was in danger of losing all of you. I could have destroyed the chance for a decent life you all have in remaining with this group. If Craig managed to stay out of Leavenworth, he would have been tossed back into the infantry.” She shook her head and her voice wobbled. “There was so much at stake back there.”

Mio Dio, the woman could pull a con. She had been so cocksure in that office when underneath she had been terrified, judging by the tremor of her hands. His anger left completely, and he held an arm out to her. She scooted over and tucked up against his shoulder. He held her tightly, surprised she wasn’t crying.

“I’m sorry, Actor,” she apologized. “I wish I could be like you. You’re so sure of yourself, so calm, so strong. . . “

“Do you think I am never afraid? Do you think I was not afraid back there?” he asked. When she turned furrowed brows up at him, he continued. “I am afraid every time we start a con over on the Continent. The key is to not let anyone know you are afraid.”  
“I never thought of you as having fear,” admitted the girl, turning her face back into his chest. “I’m scared every time we do a con,” she said. “But I trust you.”

“Teresa, you do not know me,” he said. “I am not someone to trust.”

Terry shook her head against him. “I did not know you before Alcatraz. You might have been right then. But I have come to know you over the past months. Maybe you don’t know yourself now.”

GGG

When they returned to the mansion, there were no guards in sight. Not trusting nothing had gone wrong, the two bounded up the steps into the building. 

The three men were seated at the game table, attention on the Italian and the girl. Garrison was standing at the door to his office. The lieutenant shook his head in admiration.

“Actor,” he said, “I really have to know how you pulled this off.”

The Italian shook his head and looked at Teresa. “You will have to ask her. The con was hers . . . if it was a con.” He knew better, but they did not have to know that.

Terry, back in control of herself, just shrugged. “I threw around some bigger names. That’s all it took.”

“What bigger names?” asked Garrison slowly with dread.

Terry smiled. “The biggest one we know who is on our side.”

Garrison actually blanched. “And what if they had called your bluff?”

Terry shot a quick glance at Actor’s knowing eyes. “They didn’t so I didn’t have to worry about it.”

“You’re crazy, you know that?” Craig shook his head half in admiration and half in disbelief.

“No worse than you,” she replied. Terry looked at the other three men. “So, what do you want for dinner?”

“Pork chops,” was the unanimous vote.


	12. Chapter 12

If Actor thought their ten-day respite after that stressful mission would give him some peace in order to get his strained nerves back under control, he was sadly mistaken. He was still trying to deal with his break in concentration when Angelo had appeared from his real past. Such an appalling lapse on a con was just not acceptable to the arrogant confidence man. He was the best in the business, as he well knew, and that error, that lack of anticipation and preparation, was unforgivable.   
It also brought to mind that Teresa knew his real name now. A confidence man’s worst fear was that someone would discover his true identity. It opened up the possibility for blackmail or worse, incarceration by being identified to the International Crime Police Commission. Strangely, he thought, he had no fear of these things with Teresa. If anything, it made him feel closer to the woman than he had to anyone in a long, long time. True to her word, none of the other men, including the Warden, seemed to be privy to that information.

Still, in all, Actor was more withdrawn into himself than usual. The events of the past week played over and over in his mind. He tried to take advantage of the lull in missions to lose himself in his reading. It worked to a certain extent, but even the sanctity of the wonderful Mansion library was vulnerable.

Finishing one novel, this one in French, Actor rose from his chair and went in search of the next tome in the series. Casino followed the con man into the library. Actor looked up in surprise. He had never seen Casino with a book, so he assumed the stocky man wished to speak with him in private.

“Did you want something, Casino?” asked Actor.

“Yeah,” replied the safecracker. “You remember when Terry showed up shot?”

Actor nodded.

“Well,” continued Casino, “you thought she might be mixed up in something. I think you’re right.”

“What makes you think that?” asked Actor curiously.

“She knew how to contact the Maquis,” replied Casino. “She knew passwords. The whole time we was there, they didn’t speak English. I’m bettin’ they knew how.”

Actor shrugged his eyebrows. “It could be they were her contacts from a previous Army engagement. She was trying to maintain security.”

“Yeah, maybe . . . but I don’t think so.” Casino looked up at the Italian. “What does ‘Tree-flea’ mean?”

“I beg your pardon?” Actor was at a loss at that one.

“It’s what they called her. Sounded like Tree-flea.” 

Actor thought a moment. “Ah . . . Trèfle?”

“That’s it.”

“It means Clover,” said Actor. “Possibly a name she is known by. Like our names . . . Casino, Goniff . . .” His eyebrows rose. “It bears keeping in mind.”

The con man turned his attention to the bookshelves in front of him. He slipped the book in his hand into the gap on one shelf and pulled the next book out. As he turned toward the door, he observed the safecracker looking around the room as though never having seen it before. 

“If you’re plannin’ on readin’ all these,” said Casino, “it better be a damn long war.”

“I have a feeling it will be,” remarked Actor.

He led the way back to the common room.

GGG

Actor’s withdrawn mood had not gone unnoticed by his commanding officer. Garrison knew better than to ask the man outright, so he asked his sister instead.

Terry was surprised to be strongly invited into Craig’s office and to close the door. Garrison was sitting back in his chair in a somewhat relaxed manner, so Terry perched on the corner of the desk.

“What’s bothering Actor?” asked Craig.

Terry frowned, “I take it he isn’t talking to you either.”

“He always talks to you,” said Craig.

Terry shook her head. “Not this time. In any language.”

“You two get in a fight?”

“No,” denied the girl. There could be a number of reasons the man was not himself. From the informal debriefing at the game table that first night back, she had gathered there were several things that could be bothering Actor. Some of them she could not discuss with Craig.

“He need a woman?” 

That question brought her out of her reverie. “How would I know?” she asked in frustration. She thought about it. “He’s Actor. He always needs a woman.”

“Forty-eight hour pass,” said Garrison with certainty. He eyed his sister with a small smile. “You going with them?”

“No,” replied the young woman firmly. She got up and walked out of the room, leaving Garrison with a grin on his face.

Later that afternoon, Terry came down the stairs from her room. She came to a halt in front of the Italian, who was comfortably ensconced in his chair, reading a book. Her hands were behind her back. She stood silently until he looked up.

“Stand up,” she directed him.

Actor looked at her sourly. He was quite comfortable with his legs crossed, feet on the ottoman.

“Stand up, please,” she tried again.

Garrison had come to his door after seeing her stride purposefully past. “Terry, quit pestering him.”

“I’m not pestering him,” she said without taking her eyes off the con man. “I am making a point and he needs to be standing.”

Actor looked around her at the officer and gave a forced smile. With a dramatic show of reluctance, he rose to stand by the ottoman. “And?”

“Now make the SS face,” instructed the girl. He looked askance at her. “Come on, give me the angry SS look.”

He knew just which ‘SS face’ she was referring to. After sucking in both cheeks, he arranged his face into the expression that seemed to scare her. With a wide smile, Terry whipped her right hand out from behind her and stuck a hand mirror in front of him. Actor studied the expression in the mirror and smiled. 

“Very effective,” he preened.

“Point made,” said Terry, turning on her heel and walking away.

“What was that about?” asked Garrison.

“Don’t ask,” said Actor, returning to his seat.

Craig switched to French. “You should have gone to Switzerland, without her.”

“I heard that!” came Terry’s voice from the top of the stairs.

Actor shook his head and looked at Garrison with a half grin. “Stir would have been so much calmer.”

“I heard that too!”

GGGGG

The forty-eight-hour pass had come and gone and though physically more relaxed, it had done nothing for the Italian’s withdrawn mood. The time in London had revived the other team members and they were as rambunctious as ever. Actor had changed to spending his evenings in his room with his pipe and book.

Having decided to try to break through the con man’s barrier, Garrison knocked on Actor’s door. At the invitation to enter, Craig went inside and shut the door. The con man was lying atop his bed, partially on his stomach, reading a book. Garrison held up a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

“I need a break from the paperwork,” said Craig. “Thought I would get away from the racket and have a drink with you. If that’s okay.”

“Of course,” said Actor with a genuine smile. 

He closed his book and swung his legs over the side of the bed to sit up facing Garrison as the officer took a chair facing him. The Italian accepted the glasses from the hand that was held out to him. He watched in anticipation as the younger man opened the whiskey bottle and poured a generous amount into each glass. The bottle was placed on the night table and Craig took one of the glasses. The men touched rims in a silent toast and took a sip.

Actor’s eyes widened in pleasant shock. He reached for the bottle and turned it to see the label. The shape of the bottle should have alerted him. The familiar Bushmill’s label was slightly roughed up but confirmed the contents. 

“Where did you get this?” he asked Garrison incredulously. “The distillery has been closed since 1939.”

“You aren’t the only one my sister caters to,” said Garrison smugly. “Kit has relations on the Emerald Island. Terry had her get a bottle of 1935 for me.”

“I am honored you have chosen to share it with me,” said the con man with just the right amount of humbleness. He took another sip and rolled it around on his tongue before allowing it to make its smooth way past his throat to his stomach.

Garrison stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed them at the ankles, wanting to create an atmosphere of casualness that might encourage the reticent Italian to be more open. He didn’t think it would fool the man, but it might make him less inclined to take refuge behind the wall he still kept between himself and others.

“I’d like to ask you something,” began Craig. He watched the brown hazel eyes that looked at him warily, but not shuttered. “Why did you all come back? You could have had it made in Switzerland.”

The familiar crooked grin flashed. Actor nodded. “Yes. We could have spent the remainder of the war in a luxurious villa with delicious food, delectable women, freedom from getting shot at or the constant threat of being returned to stir.” He shook his head. “It was too easy.”

Craig choked out a laugh. “Too easy?”

“Of course, Warden.” Actor savored another sip of the Irish whiskey. “Where is the challenge in that?”

“So, you came back because it was a challenge?” asked Garrison. This reasoning almost escaped him, but he was getting to know his men.

Actor slowly rolled the whiskey glass between his hands contemplating what he wanted to say next. In these rare times when the two men were alone together, the formality of rank was almost put aside. They were two men who respected each other and found the ability to share as close to friendship as they could be allowed by the circumstances they were in. In another time and place, the army officer could have been an almost perfect partner in the con. Actor thought about what he wanted to say to this man and tried to anticipate the repercussions, if any, from being that open. 

“Warden,” he started. “You have taken us and taught us how to trust, as much as we are capable of that, and you have backed us from the moment you got each of us from our prisons. I doubt any of us have ever experienced that kind of support; not even the ones who have families.” Actor looked up and strived to be open with the man who was becoming a friend. “We could not turn our backs and walk away. Taking our freedom and leaving you to face possible incarceration was not the way to repay you.” He saw Garrison start to open his mouth in protest and cut him off. “It is a debt we gladly bear.” A wide smile crossed the confidence man’s face. “However, do not for a moment think this means we will not continue to give you problems.”

Garrison accepted the man’s play at negating the seriousness of his words. He grinned back. “Never.”

They sat back and sipped their whiskey. Actor deftly changed the subject.

“Have you heard anything about our good Gen. Horst?”

Garrison grinned. “Seems you were right about him.” Actor looked at him questioningly. “Finocchio.” Actor’s mouth tightened in a look of disgust before he took another drink. So, the worldly confidence man did have his prejudices. “I suppose with the Vatican being at the heart of Italy, it was not something that was approved of?”

“Hardly,” said Actor shortly. “Oh, that is not to say it did not happen. But it was something kept behind closed doors. No, the Church does not tolerate it.”

Garrison nodded. “We were taught by our mother to be tolerant of others’ beliefs and cultures. But that didn’t mean we had to openly embrace everything. I don’t know what Terry’s take on it is. She’s the most Catholic of all of us. She discovered the chiesi in Rome and something spoke to her.”

“Madre di Dio,” said Actor dramatically. “I hope that young woman never contemplated becoming a nun?”

Craig laughed. “No, she didn’t embrace it that much.”

“Thank goodness.” Actor crossed himself, eliciting another laugh from Garrison.

The younger man casually launched into another question he had. “I hear you ran into someone you knew at the party?”

“Yes.” The response was flat as was the expression of the handsome man’s face.

Craig hoped the wall would not go all the way back up. “Terry said it wasn’t a problem. I don’t imagine it was the first time that’s happened to you.”

Actor fought the instinct to close up within himself. Part of him wanted to discuss it with someone who could be trusted. Another part of him was trying hard to closet it from everyone.

“Teresa discussed it with you?” he asked with forced nonchalance, wondering at the girl’s indiscretion. 

“Not really discussed it,” denied Garrison, knowing he was treading on shaky ground here. “It was mentioned. As I said, she said it wasn’t a problem. I imagine you’ve run into people you know before. Hard not to with every place you’ve been.” Garrison reached for the bottle and poured some more of the liquor into their glasses.

Actor’s eyes were focused on the glass between his hands that rested on his knees. His eyebrows threatened to meet in the middle. Garrison waited.

“It has never happened before,” admitted the con man quietly.

“You covered it fine from what I heard,” said Garrison, taking a sip.

“I did not cover it,” admitted Actor. “Teresa covered it – and covered it well.” He looked up at the younger man, self-recrimination evident on his face and in his voice. “I froze.”

Shit! Garrison watched the man silently and tried to figure out what to say and how to say it. He had hoped to get an idea of what was bothering his con man but had never expected a confession like this. He wasn’t sure how to handle it. Actor took his silence as not understanding the implications.

“I have not frozen since I first started learning the con. It could have been disastrous for Teresa and all of us,” continued the Italian. “I did not anticipate such a thing happening, nor plan for a necessary cover. I simply froze. There is no excuse for that. It is unforgivable.”

Craig gathered himself and carefully got his words together. “Have you spoken to Terry about it? It did not seem to bother her any.”

“We discussed it very briefly,” replied Actor.

“Maybe you need to discuss it in greater depth,” suggested Garrison. The con man sat silently. Craig took a mental deep breath. “When we have a mission, I try to anticipate ahead of time anything that possibly could go wrong. I know you do too. But sometimes we just can’t imagine every scenario. When something does go wrong, we work together to fix it. It’s called teamwork. And the teamwork I see developing between you and Terr is amazing. You ran into something unexpected. I wouldn’t say you didn’t plan for something like that. Terry covered it. You taught her how to do that. And you obviously taught her well. I doubt she could have become that good without your teaching. I don’t see anything ‘inexcusable’. As for unforgivable, maybe you should take it up with her. She was the one working the con with you. She doesn’t seem to have a problem with what you did or didn’t do. And we both know Terry well enough to know if something bothered her, we’d hear about it.” 

“Very true,” agreed Actor.

Talk in depth to Teresa? The woman already knew more about him than even the Lieutenant. It made him vulnerable and that was something he could not afford in his business. Apparently, the young woman had not divulged his secret to her brother or there would have been a more ‘in depth’ conversation about his past from the Warden. It was time to change the subject.

Actor picked up the bottle of Bushmill’s with a smile and began talking about the history of the distillery. Craig realized he would get nothing more of a personal nature from his second and let it go.

GGGGG

It was midmorning when Terry decided to tackle the mountain of dirty dishes in the kitchen. The coffee pot was still half full, so she carried it out to the common room and made the rounds, filling the men’s teacups before entering Craig’s office and topping off his mug. 

Garrison was working on some intelligence reports as always. He looked up at his sister in contemplation. “Shut the door.”

Now what wondered the woman with exasperation? She closed the door and came back to stand by the desk, coffee pot in hand.

“I spoke with Actor last night,” said Garrison, leaning back in his chair.

Terry became wary. “He tell you what’s bothering him?”

Craig nodded. “I don’t know how to get through to him that it’s all right. I told him he needed to talk to you.”

“Talk to me? About what?” The girl was slightly alarmed. One just did not push Actor like that. It had the potential of ruining the careful balance between the two of them. “What did he tell you?”

“He’s worried about something that happened in the ballroom and it concerned you.” Garrison could tell by the pinched mouth and dark green eyes his sister was annoyed.

“I told him and I’m telling you it wasn’t a problem.” Terry shook her head. “Leave it alone now. It’s not hurting anything.”

“Yes, it is,” insisted Garrison. “He’s almost back to where he was when I first got them out of prison.”

“So? Give him time. He’ll work it out for himself.”

“I wish you’d talk to him,” persisted Garrison.

Terry frowned. “If he wants to talk with me, he will. Leave it alone.” She turned away and went to open the door.

“Terry . . .”

“No!” she cut him off.

Terry walked out of the office and firmly closed the door behind her. Ignoring the occupants of the common room, she took her coffee pot and stormed back toward the kitchen, heels clicking on the wooden floor.

Three of the men watched her go.

“Ever notice they fight a lot?” asked Goniff with a grin.

Casino, sitting across the table from the pickpocket shook his head. “Makes yuh wonder if they were like that at home.”

“Probably,” said Chief quietly from the window.

Actor remained silent. He had a feeling he was the topic of the argument. Suddenly, he desired some fresh air and open space. Setting aside his newspaper, he rose from his chair and picked up his cup of coffee. No one paid attention when he went out to the kitchen. Without a word to Teresa, he set his cup on the sink beside her and continued to the back door.

Terry glanced at the three quarters full cup. “You want me to save that?” she asked.

“No, thank you.”

Terry watched his back disappear outside and down the steps. She started to pour the slightly warm coffee out, but waste was hard for her, so she drank it down instead and set about filling the sink with soapy water. Resolutely she dipped her hands into the hot water and began washing the glasses and teacups. It helped her resist the urge to go check on the Italian. It wasn’t as though she wasn’t worried about him too, but she wasn’t going to push him.

Dishes washed and dried, Terry started putting them away. One of her trips took her to the butler’s pantry and led her past the back door. She glanced outside and paused. Actor was almost to the end of the rose garden along the house wall. He had heavy gardening gloves on his manicured hands as he snipped and deadheaded the bushes that had been neglected for a couple weeks. Terry still found it fascinating to watch the confidence man working with the roses.

The young woman finished putting away the dishes and ran a dishrag over the counters and the table. The scrap bucket needed emptying, so she picked it up and let herself outside. The only acknowledgment from the Italian was a brief glance. Terry cut across the grass to the coop and dumped the scraps into the tray for her small flock, drawing a loudly clucking gathering of feathered creatures around her feet. 

On the way back, she had to stop and admire the view. Actor’s jacket was hanging from the shepherd’s crook that should have had a birdfeeder dangling from it. The tall man was reaching over his head to snip at the bush near the top of the trellis. It made him look even more elongated. Terry had to smile. The white shirt was stretched across broad shoulders and tapered down to the dark pants in an inverted triangle. Narrow hips topped . . . gazelle legs. He probably could have used a little more meat on his bones. Terry knew his ribs were more prominent than they should be. Hopefully, the garden would be producing great guns soon so she would have more to feed the men and still be able to can for the following winter. She had no doubt the war would still be going on then.

Terry detoured over to stand beside Actor and peruse the rose bushes. “That looks so much better,” she remarked.

Actor dropped some brown wilted flowers into the bucket beside him. “The spent flowers need to be removed. It sends growth back into the plant so it can make new flowers.”

“Is there anything you don’t know?” asked Terry cheerfully.

“Quite a bit, I am sure,” he replied.

He looked at the bush and reached up to snip an opening pink and white bud on a fairly long stem. The hand clippers rapidly removed the thorns and the flower was presented to Teresa. She accepted it with a smile.

“Why thank you, Kind Sir,” she said with a grin.

“You are most welcome, Madam.”

“Madam?” asked Terry with fake umbrage.

Actor looked down at her with a small smile. “Excuse me. My dear young lady.”

Terry wasn’t sure if that was a whole lot better. At least it had brought a smile to his face. “I shall go immediately and put this in water.”

She turned and went back into the house, not seeing the smile leave the man’s face. Inside, Terry retrieved a bud vase, filled it with water and placed the flower in it. She set the vase in the center of the kitchen window where she could see it while she worked. An idea flitted through her mind.

Bouncing into the butler’s pantry, she took a tin labeled ‘water biscuits’ down from a shelf and opened it. Goniff had yet to discover her stash of Perugina Baci the Italian had brought her from a mission to Italy. She selected one of the wrapped cones and put the tin back on the shelf. It might help to feed the Italian’s sweet tooth.

When she stepped out the back door, she stopped short. Actor’s jacket still hung from the crook, the bucket and clippers on the ground beneath it. The man was nowhere to be seen. Terry looked around with a frown. No Actor. That left the gazebo. She walked over and gave a knock on the frame, not waiting for an answer before entering. Actor was sitting on the bench seat, head down, hands in this lap.

“There you are,” said Terry. She stepped up to him and dropped the chocolate treat into his open hands. “A kiss for a deserving gentleman,” she teased.

The dark head tilted back to look up at her, an unsmiling expression on his face. Actor said nothing but looked back down and toyed with the piece of candy. 

Terry frowned. The man’s moods were mercurial. 

“Caro, what’s the matter?” she asked softly. “Craig told me I needed to talk to you, but he didn’t say about what. I was going to leave talking up to you, but he may be right. Whatever is bothering you, he said it has to do with me. If I’m involved, shouldn’t I know what it is?”

There was a long silence.

“I froze.”

“What?” asked the girl in confusion.

Actor looked up at her in frustration. “With Angelo in the ballroom. I froze.” Frustration was evident in his voice.

Good grief! He was still on that.

“You didn’t freeze,” she denied. “You might have hiccoughed a little, but that’s all.”

“You call that a hiccough?” demanded the con man.

“Hiccough, bobble, whatever,” said Terry. “It was not a big deal. I don’t even think Angelo noticed.”

“And what do you think would have happened if Angelo had noticed?” Actor continued adamantly.

“Probably nothing,” replied Terry just as firmly. “You would have recovered and been your usual suave silver-tongued self and steered him away from it.”

“Are you sure?” he asked bitterly.

“Positive,” she shot back.

“Teresa, I put you at risk,” insisted Actor.

Terry was getting frustrated. “I was never at risk. You bobbled. I covered. That’s teamwork. So, you bobbled. How long have you been in the business? That’s a rhetorical question,” she added quickly. “If that’s the only time you have ‘bobbled’ a little, then you deserve your reputation of being the best.”

He gave her a dubious look at that and dropped his head to watch his fingers toying with the Italian confection. Knowing she was crossing a line, Terry reached a hand out, tipped his chin up and cupped his cheek. His eyes locked on her face with a frown. Terry traced the tip of her forefinger down his sideburn and then rubbed her thumb along his cheekbone. Actor allowed himself a brief moment of weakness and pressed his face quickly against her palm before looking back down. Terry’s other hand reached up to trace a thumb down the other cheekbone.

“Stop this,” she said softly. “It worked out fine. We are a team. We cover for each other. Granted, usually you have to cover for me. So, I got the opportunity to pay you back this time. You are making too much out of it.” 

Actor stood, rising away from her hands on his face, but then put his arms around her and pulled her close. “I would never wish to do anything that might hurt you,” he said quietly.

“I know,” she replied softly. “And I would never wish to do anything to hurt you either. Even though you would never admit that’s possible.”

Actor blew out a breath in self-disgust but pulled the woman tighter to him. “I knew I should not have allowed you to get so close.”

Terry tucked her head under his chin and hugged him. “Yeah, but isn’t it nice to have someone close?”

“With you?” asked the con man. “It’s nerve wracking.”

“Culo.”

“Asino,” he said quietly against her head. “If you must insult me at least do it correctly.”

Terry rubbed her cheek against him. He nudged the hair back from her forehead and kissed it gently.

“If you are going to do that, at least do it correctly,” muttered the girl.

Actor sighed and bent his head, kissing her with care and a fine passion.

“You do do that well,” Terry teased, trying to lighten up the situation.

Actor grinned crookedly. “I know, cara.”

Terry leaned back and looked up at him, watching the eyes start to shutter. “A bomb could fall on our heads in the next ten minutes. Quit over thinking everything.” 

“Marmocchia,” he said without heat.

She straightened and patted his ribs before walking away. “Yeah, but you love me,” she tossed blithely over her shoulder.

She did not stop, so she missed the dark brooding eyes watching her. 

Actor became aware of the candy that was beginning to soften from the heat of his hand. He carefully opened it and removed the tiny note that was enclosed with each chocolate. “Ti amo” was printed on the paper. He knew the girl did not know what was written there. Shaking his head, he popped the chocolate into his mouth, and pushed the slip of paper into his pants pocket.

GGGGG

The atmosphere in the mansion improved over time. Casino’s face healed as did Goniff’s arm. As usual the war reared its ugly head and the missions resumed. 

Garrison was relieved that his second had recovered his usual mindset and worked as creatively and efficiently as ever. Craig did not know if his sister and the confidence man had ever had that conversation, nor would he ask. He was just glad things were back to normal . . . for them.

One sunny afternoon, Garrison had been called to London for another briefing. Terry and the cons slipped down to the Doves for a couple hours before the Lieutenant returned. Glancing at the wall clock, the girl knew there were at least two hours left before her brother could possibly be back, so she decided to leave the noisy pub and go back to make supper. Actor gallantly offered to walk with her.

They left the pub well before the others and started the walk back up to the mansion. The afternoon sun was warm, but the breeze kept it comfortable. Terry was silent until they reached the break in the stone wall that was their clandestine entrance to the compound. Instead of climbing over the rocks, she turned and sat on one.

“Sit with me for a while?” she asked Actor.

He looked down at her a moment and took a seat on another large rock beside her. 

Terry looked down at her hands. She knew she would not have such an opportunity for a private talk with Actor for a long time, but she was afraid to ask what she wished to know.

“You have been too quiet today, Teresa,” said Actor, giving her the opening she needed.

“You’ve been a little quieter than usual for a while now. I’ve been thinking,” she said slowly. “There is something I want to ask you. It might be seen as prying. If you don’t wish to answer me, I will understand.”

“I take it this is of a personal nature,” said the confidence man, his guard going up.

Terry nodded. She looked up at him with a tilt of her head. “You grew up in the aristocracy. Vineyards, villas, money, obvious good breeding.”

He nodded, knowing where this was going to go and not at all sure he was willing to impart that information. 

“So how did you end up on the wrong side of the law? How and why did you become a confidence man?” Terry’s eyebrows were pulled together as she worried if she was angering him by asking.

Actor took out his pipe and slowly and precisely built it. They both knew it was his way of taking time to think things out. Teresa had been true to her word and had not divulged his real name to anyone, including her brother. She had become one of the very few people in his life he felt he could trust.

“Wealth does not always mean a good home life,” he began, taking a puff and blowing the smoke upward. “It is something I avoid thinking about as much as possible.”

“So, you don’t want to talk about it,” said Terry when nothing more was coming. She hadn’t really thought he would tell her.

Actor turned his head to look at her. “Teresa, it is a part of my life I have put behind me. It does no good to dwell on it. However, I suppose now that you know some of it, you will continue to wish to know the whole of it.”

“I told you, if you don’t want to tell me, I will be content with that,” she reaffirmed, hiding her disappointment.

He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment. She knew more than most about him and had kept his secret. Better she know the rest of it, than to continue to speculate on it. It might break their friendship, but then again, it might not. It was a gamble and gambling was what he did.

“My father was a strict, hard man. He had built his wine empire and was not about to see it fail with his passing. It should have gone to my elder brother, Marco.” He paused, looking inward at the pain and shoved it back in his mind.

“You said should have,” prompted Terry quietly. “It didn’t?”

“No,” replied Actor. “Marco was more interested in politics. Unfortunately, it was not the politics of our father. Marco was killed when he was twenty. It was a political rally protesting King Victor Emmanuel.” He paused, gazing into the distance to avoid her eyes. “The family seemed to fall apart from there.”

Terry seemed to be forgotten as she twisted on her rock and watched the show of emotions crossing the normally inscrutable face. This was Vittorio talking, not Actor.

Now that he had started, he felt compelled to finish the story. “My younger sister died that winter of some illness that could not be cured. It destroyed my mother, emotionally and physically. She lived another year, then she became ill and died.”

Terry sat very still. She wanted to touch him, to hold him, but knew that would not be appreciated. She was about to tell him he didn’t have to tell her anymore if it was too painful, but he continued.

“My father was left with me. I did not want the vineyards. I wanted to be a dottore, a surgeon. Papa said no. He was going to teach me the wine business and that was that. Mama had given me money that I kept hidden from Papa. I tried to bargain with him. For a short time, I continued my studies through the university and tried to learn the grapes besides. It was too much. Papa told me I had to quit school. I refused. He threw me out.”

“How old were you?” asked Terry trying to figure out the time frame.

“Sixteen.”

“Vittorio!” she exclaimed in a whisper. He had been a year older than her youngest brother was now. 

He shrugged.

“What did you do?” she asked.

“I got a cheap room in a not so good part of the city and continued to go to school on what little money I had left from Mama. When that ran out, I started looking for a benefactress. I lived with several over the years.”

Terry eyed him. “I understand how the benefactress worked in Roman society,” she said. “I also know that wasn’t always the way it happened.”

Actor eyed her back with wry humor. “You mean did I have to pay for my benefits with sex?” He watched her swallow hard and knew she would back away from that question, so he answered it. “Yes. How do you think I learned to be a ladies’ man?”

“With you I thought it was instinct,” admitted Terry.

“Thank you for that vote of confidence,” he tried to grin. “No, I was taught and taught well. My last benefactress had a male partner who was a confidence man. He began teaching me the trade. To keep the money I acquired, I had to play their game.” He frowned and seemed to look inward again. “I was caught and jailed. The university heard about it and expelled me.”

Terry groaned silently to herself. Actor watched her face and decided she might as well know the entire truth.

“I was now part of their little scheme. I was popular with the women. They decided I would do better as what would be the equivalent of a puttano. I ran away.”

Terry looked up, startled at that revelation. It was no wonder he had so little trust in men or women.

“I worked at perfecting my abilities as a confidence man. I was never going back to that depth of depravity again.” He smiled crookedly. “The rest you know.”

His pipe had gone out, so he set about remaking it. When he was done, he sat and smoked it, one hand resting on a rock between them. Terry’s hand hesitantly reached out to cover his. Instead of pulling it away, Actor turned his over and entwined his fingers with hers.

“That which does not kill us, makes us stronger,” she quoted.

“Nietzsche.”

Terry frowned, “I thought it was Alexander the Great?”

Actor shook his head. “Nietzsche.”

Terry looked up at him. “I have always found you to be a strong man. Now I know why. I had no idea that was what you went through, and so young.”

“I don’t want your pity, Teresa,” he said firmly.

“I feel sadness for the boy,” said Terry carefully. “And though I don’t have any right to, I am so proud of the man he became and is still becoming. But my God, Actor . . .”

“I have made a very good life for myself. I have wealth. I have traveled over half the world. I have women whenever I want them. What more could I ask for?” His tone was almost flippant, trying to steer her away from the thoughts that made him uncomfortable.

“How about someone to love you? Someone to keep you from getting thrown back in prison?”

“You?”

Terry chuckled. “We know each other too well. I’m not your type of woman.”

Actor wondered if he indeed had a type of woman? Surely not a permanent one; especially not after the last disaster in that area. And that was not something he was willing to share with Teresa. It was time to end this conversation. He rose to his feet and stepped around the girl, climbing through the gap in the wall. On the other side, he turned back with his pipe clamped in his teeth to help Teresa over the wall.

She came to stand close in front of him, looking up with an expression he wasn’t sure of. One small hand rose to rest fingertips lightly on his chest. He removed the pipe from his mouth and blew the smoke away, watching her curiously.

“Thank you for telling me,” she said simply and softly.

He nodded. What was it about her, he mused. Actor reached a hand up to gently cup the side of her neck, thumb giving a light caress to her cheek. He bent his head and kissed her forehead, hesitating a bare moment before bending his neck so he could place a kiss on her lips. The kiss was returned. He grinned crookedly at her, the other corner of his mouth rising into a smile at the smile she gave back to him.

Her hand on his chest slide down around his waist and she gave a squeeze. He placed an arm around her shoulders, giving her a returning squeeze. Together they walked up the hill toward the house.

GGG

A couple hours later, Garrison returned with the briefcase firmly secured to his wrist by the handcuff. He was beginning to understand what the cons must have felt like when shackled. And it was a pain in the rear to try to drive with the darn thing on.

Dinner was on the table in short order and they all gathered to eat before the briefing. Craig looked around the table at his men and his sister. Terry’s loyalty was a given, but it was that of his men that surprised him. They had not even been together quite a year yet and they had given up their freedom to keep him out of prison. 

“So, where we goin’ this time, Warden?” asked Chief.

“Holland,” replied Garrison, brought out of his reverie. 

“Terrific,” grumbled Casino. “The last time we went to Holland we got shot at by the Resistance.”

“Maybe they didn’t like you messing with their women,” suggested Terry in a low matter-of-fact voice that had the men wondering if that was what she had really just said.

Casino eyed Terry with a dirty grin. “Jealous Babe?”

“Hardly,” she replied. 

“Yeah, just think. If it hadn’ta been for that parole, we coulda been in Switzerland right now with all the dames we wanted.”

So much for loyalty, thought Garrison.

“Casino,” said Actor with a touch of disgust, “Swiss women have culture. Refinement. Discrimination.

“Aw, butt out Actor,” shot back the cracksman. “Just because I found a little action and you didn’t . . .”

“’Ey, an’ what about the rest o’ us?” complained Goniff. “Yuh didn’t think about us?”

“Why? You weren’t there,”

“Ow, well ain’t that just ducky . . .”

“I had more important things on my mind than fulfilling my carnal desires . . .”

“Yeah, right, Beautiful . . .”

“Chief, pass me a roll please . . .”

Garrison did a slow perusal around the dining table. Yes, things had been a lot quieter when the men weren’t there. He guessed it was business as usual again.


End file.
